Photo In Lititz, PA, Trump takes note of the bulletproof glass directly in front of him. “To shoot me, someone would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that.” The riser facing him head-on is full of reporters and cameras.
Former President Donald Trump said that he “shouldn’t have left” the White House in 2020 during a wide-ranging speech in Pennsylvania on Sunday morning in which he also escalated violent rhetoric toward the news media.
“We had the safest border in the history of our country the day that I left,” Trump told supporters midway through his more than 90-minute speech, citing his endorsement from a major border patrol union.
“I shouldn’t have left,” he added, “because we did so well.”
Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden by 74 electoral votes in the Electoral College. The Republican presidential nominee has long raised claims of voter fraud impacting that race, allegations which have all been rejected by courts across the country. Trump also faces federal criminal charges and state-level charges in Georgia over his alleged efforts to overturn the election results.
Trump has not said whether he will accept the outcome of the 2024 race against Vice President Kamala Harris if he loses.
During his rally in Pennsylvania, Trump repeated unfounded claims about voter fraud and questioned common voting processes, including mail-in and early voting.
“They are fighting so hard to steal this damn thing,” Trump said without evidence. “They’re talking about extending hours … Whoever heard of this stuff?”
A judge in Pennsylvania last week extended the deadline for voters in Bucks County to request a mail-in ballot. The ruling was in response to a Trump campaign lawsuit alleging that long lines had prevented some of the former president’s supporters from getting their ballot.
Election officials in some other counties across the country have proposed adding additional early-morning voting hours to stem long voting lines.
The former president during his Sunday speech also ramped up rhetoric against journalists. Trump pointed to the protective glass surrounding him and said a potential assassin would need to shoot through the news media to hit him.
To get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that so much. I don’t mind that,” he said.
YAHOO NEWS/ USA TODAY
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