CNN's Daniel Dale says the media needs to “sound the alarm” about Trump's plan to “reject the legitimacy” of the presidential election
Dale: “Trump is clearly trying, right now, to lay the groundwork to reject the legitimacy of a potential loss in November”
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From the September 9, 2024, edition of CNN's CNN News Central
BORIS SANCHEZ (CO-HOST): So ahead of the debate, Donald Trump has been busy issuing threats, vowing to jail his opponents, election officials, and others if he's reelected in November. Trump posted this on Truth Social: "When I win, those people that cheated will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This legal exposure extends to lawyers, political operatives, donors, illegal voters, and corrupt election officials."
BRIANNA KEILAR (CO-HOST): That's a lot of people. CNN's Daniel Dale joining us now for a fact-check on this. Daniel, the president says -- former president says he's making these threats because he knows better than most about election cheating considering what happened in 2020 -- which you could also fact-check that -- four years later, we're still fact-checking 2020 and whether it was stolen because it wasn't.
DANIEL DALE (CNN SENIOR REPORTER): Like, how are we still doing this, guys? I cannot believe we're still here talking about this stuff. It is truly ludicrous that former president Trump is still saying this stuff. It is the second half of 2024, these lies have been debunked thousands of times for more than three-and-a-half years. But he won't stop. So let's do it again.
Breaking news, September 9, 2024, Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. He lost at 306 to 232 in the Electoral College. He lost it fair and square. His own handpicked administration officials and campaign officials, including Attorney General Barr, told him it was not stolen. The authentic results were certified by diligent election officials, Democratic and Republican around the country, as well as by Democratic and Republican governors.
Nobody has ever presented any proof of any fraud or "cheating" even close to widespread enough to have changed the outcome in any single state, dozens of lawsuits from Trump and his allies were dismissed. Dozens of lies from Trump and his allies were debunked. One prominent ally, Rudy Giuliani, lost a defamation case over one of those lies because it had been debunked. The right-wing movie Trump said proved their whole case has also been debunked. The only people who face charges for trying to subvert the will of the people in connection to that 2020 election are Trump and his allies. Recounts proved he lost, partisan so-called audits even proved he lost. Republican led legislative reviews, proved he lost. He lost the 2020 election.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, again, breaking news September 9, 2024, Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. It bears repeating, Daniel. Trump has already, though, trying to cast doubts about the 2024 election. He's already asking the FBI to investigate mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania. Tell us more.
DALE: Yeah. I think it's time to sound the alarm here. Trump is clearly trying, right now, to lay the groundwork to reject the legitimacy of a potential loss in November, he is making ridiculous claims that he cannot lose this very tight race unless they're cheating. That's nonsense. He's even suggesting that a loss in overwhelmingly Democratic California will mean he's been cheated. That is frankly crazy. He's even been calling opinion polls rigged. Listen to just some of his recent remarks.
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So look, Donald Trump absolutely might win this election. But if he does lose, I fully expect another bunch of years of election lies, this time about the 2024 election.
SANCHEZ: And we saw where so many people having believed that the 2020 election was stolen ultimately led.