Donald Trump promised a swift reckoning for anybody—lawyers, donors, political operatives, voters—involved in election rigging.
In a post that appeared first on Truth Social and then on Twitter/ X, Trump said he and his legal team would ensure the 2024 election is conducted “under the closest professional scrutiny” and that anybody who attempted to interfere in a free and fair election would be punished.
“CEASE & DESIST,” the post began.
“I, together with many Attorneys and Legal Scholars, am watching the Sanctity of the 2024 Presidential Election very closely because I know, better than most, the rampant Cheating and Skullduggery that has taken place by the Democrats in the 2020 Presidential Election.
“It was a Disgrace to our Nation! Therefore, the 2024 Election, where Votes have just started being cast, will be under the closest professional scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again.
“We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WON’T! Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”
The post was greeted with enthusiasm by Trump’s supporters, but it was also seized upon by his opponents as evidence that he himself is trying to rig the election by intimidating his opponents and suppressing the vote.
Marc Elias, a lawyer who recently joined Kamala Harris’s campaign team, Tweeted: “We won’t let Donald Trump intimidate us. We won’t let him suppress the vote. We won’t let him subvert the election. We won’t let him cheat. We will fight and we will WIN.”
The New York Times noted that “Mr. Trump has repeatedly called for prosecutions against people who he believes have wronged him” and also suggested that Trump, who was recently endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, might use law enforcement to intimidate voters.