The Official Donald Trump Thread
Lizzo Vows ‘The Whole Country Will Be Like Detroit’ if Kamala Harris Becomes President
Kipp JonesOct 19th, 2024, 3:42 pm5849 comments
Rapper Lizzo vowed the country would mirror Detroit if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected on Nov. 5 during a Saturday rally in the city.
The Detroit native made the comments a week after former President Donald Trump made similar remarks from the city, although his comments were not intended to be endearing.
“Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president,” Trump said on Oct. 10. “You’re going to have a mess on your hands.”
Both Harris and Trump were campaigning in the crucial battleground state of Michigan on Saturday when Harris enlisted Lizzo to speak on her behalf.
“I’m so proud to be from this city,” Lizzo said. “You know, they say if Kamala Harris wins, then the whole country will be like Detroit, okay? Proud like Detroit. Resilient like Detroit. We’re talking about the same Detorit that innovated the auto industry and the music industry, so put some respect on Detroit’s name, okay!?”
Lizzo said she voted early Saturday for the vice president.
The “About Damn Time” artist warmed up the crowd, which later welcomed Harris with enthusiasm. The Associated Press reported:
Watch above via Kamala HQ on X.
Attachments
Few if any minority senior execs in Trump's empire
Few if any minority senior execs in Trump's empire
June 16, 2016
FILE - In this March 24, 2006 file photo, Donald Trump speaks to Randal Pinkett, the winner of the fourth season of Trump's reality television show "The Apprentice," at the sixth season auditions at Trump Tower in New York. There are few, if any, black executives in the upper ranks of the Trump Organization, a review by The Associated Press has found. During his tenure as temporary VP within Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc., Pinkett noticed the absence of minority executives in the organization, saying: “It was quite commonplace for me to be the only person of color in the room for meetings at the executive level.” (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — There are few, if any, black executives in the upper ranks of the Trump Organization, a review by The Associated Press has found. Other minorities are also scarce at that level though Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has employed scores of executives.
Former executives say they cannot recall a single black vice president-level executive at Trump's headquarters during their combined tenures at the Trump Organization LLC, which ranged from 1980 to late in the past decade. Reviews of social media postings by Trump and his family and Trump's acknowledgements thanking executives in his books also fail to identify any senior black employees past or present.
Asked about the lack of African-American vice presidents in an interview last month, Trump assured the AP that he had hired minorities as senior executives and said his staff could readily provide specific details.
"I am the least discriminatory person in the world," Trump said. "I have people that do the hiring, if you want to speak to them."
The Trump Organization, however, did not grant subsequent requests by the AP to provide such information or say whether Trump had hired an African-American vice president over the past 35 years.
The AP limited its review to the circle of senior executives who hold titles of vice president or higher within the Trump Organization, an amorphous corporate entity in which Trump and a group of top executives oversee hundreds of different companies and partnerships that control real estate, licensing and hospitality businesses. Some subsidiary businesses have their own hierarchies of presidents and vice presidents, but those executives are generally not located within Trump Tower headquarters and do not have the same authority and prestige.
Trump's subsidiary businesses over the years have included golf courses, a modeling agency, casinos in multiple states and an airline. The AP did identify some African-Americans holding the VP title at such individual properties.
"The Trump Organization employs both females and minorities in positions of authority across the entire company and in recent years has made great progress in expanding an already diverse workforce," Trump's son, Eric, said in a statement to the AP. "As the company continues to expand, both domestically and internationally, we will continue to recruit the very best and brightest regardless of gender and ethnicity."
The AP's review found two Trump executives whose surnames could potentially indicate Hispanic or Middle Eastern backgrounds but did not draw any conclusions given the lack of cooperation by the Trump Organization.
Some black former employees said the absence of minorities among Trump's top lieutenants was striking.
"It was quite commonplace for me to be the only person of color in the room for meetings at the executive level," said Randal Pinkett, who in December 2005 won on "The Apprentice," Trump's reality show competition. That earned Pinkett a temporary vice president title within Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., not the Trump Organization directly.
"And when I had the opportunity to meet with the heads of affiliate companies, as I did often, not once did I encounter a person of color," Pinkett said.
The apparent lack of diversity among Trump's senior staff undermines an image portrayed in a recent online campaign advertisement, in which Lynne Patton, who described herself as a black, female executive at the Trump Organization, praised Trump for "hiring more minority and female executives than any other company for which I've ever worked."
Patton is Eric Trump's longtime personal assistant. After the AP questioned the campaign's citation of her as a Trump Organization executive, her title on the Eric Trump Foundation's website and her profile on the LinkedIn service was changed to "vice president of the Eric Trump Foundation." That position did not appear on the foundation's most recent tax filing for 2014, which said Patton was one of 16 unpaid directors who devote approximately one hour per week to the charity.
Paige Scardigli, the executive director of the Eric Trump Foundation, said that those filings understated Patton's role. Patton did not respond to inquiries from the AP through email, a message to her LinkedIn account and requests to a spokeswoman for the Trump Organization.
The National Urban League said Trump did not reply to a questionnaire about diversity and he has twice rebuffed requests to speak or meet with the group and the NAACP.
The president of the National Urban League, Marc Morial, called Trump's claim to colorblindness "a smoke-screen" and said it was a worrisome sign of how the businessman would handle appointments as president.
"There are lots of African-American graduates from Wharton and Harvard and Yale," Morial said. "If you were applying the same standard to everyone in the talent pool, you'd be hiring a lot of people of color."
When Trump takes fire for comments about women, he can point to a roster of female executives who held senior positions, reporting only to him. On matters of racial diversity, however, Trump does not have that option.
The AP spoke with six former Trump executives. Some spoke on condition of anonymity because they said they were concerned about retaliation by Trump.
"There weren't many black employees at all that I remember, to be honest with you," said Barbara Res, who worked for Trump from 1980 to 1992. "I know he had a black doorman, which is a big thing for him — that's the front of his building."
Trump has dismissed comments by Res about other matters involving the Trump Organization, calling her a disgruntled former employee whom he declined to rehire.
Some former Trump executives said the prevalence of white executives in the Trump Organization's upper ranks reflected the real estate world, not Trump's preferences.
"I don't think it's different from any other real estate company, honestly," said Jill Cremer, a vice president at the Trump Organization until 2008. Cremer described a respectful, family-friendly environment during her decade with the Trump Organization. Even if the organization's top executives were white, she said, Trump's willingness to promote women to senior positions demonstrates his open mind about diversity.
Bruce LeVell, a black former county GOP chairman in Georgia who founded The National Diversity Coalition For Trump and says he has met most of the Trump Organization's top executives, said he sees no sign of discrimination in Trump's 25th floor office in Trump Tower. LeVell described diversity in the organization's information technology department.
Trump, he said, does not care "if you're black, small, white or tall. If you've got a gift and a talent, he's going to go after you."
In his social life, Trump has long had a place for African-American celebrities and athletes. His relationship with Herschel Walker went well past Walker's star role on the New Jersey Generals, Trump's team in an upstart football league. He called Michael Jackson a good friend, provided financial advice to Mike Tyson and in more recent years socialized with Russell Simmons.
Diversity questions come as Trump tests his appeal beyond the generally white and male voters that dominate Republican primaries. Most polls have pegged his likely support among blacks below 10 percent, in line with 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney's performance. Trump campaign officials say they expect to do far better.
The campaign has put effort into diversity among its officials and surrogates. Its official national spokeswoman, Katrina Pierson, is an African-American woman; another black "Apprentice" contestant, Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, has been a regular television surrogate for Trump. Trump also has been endorsed by a group of African-American pastors.
But Paul Manafort, a top campaign official, told the Huffington Post in an interview last month that picking a woman or a minority as Trump's vice presidential nominee "would be viewed as pandering, I think."
The claims made by Trump in the wake of the Orlando shooting reflect a troubling trend in political discourse, where serious national tragedies are exploited for political gain. Suggesting that Obama might have been involved or somehow complicit in the shooting is not only baseless but also dangerous, as it fosters division and conspiracy thinking among the electorate.
This rhetoric mirrors other unfounded conspiracy theories that have circulated in American politics, which often serve to delegitimize opposition figures rather than address substantive issues. It's essential to critically examine such statements and recognize their potential impact on public perception and social cohesion.
Moreover, the lack of diversity in Trump's organization, as highlighted in the subsequent AP report, underscores a broader issue of representation in leadership roles across many industries. It’s vital for organizations to reflect the diversity of the communities they serve, both for ethical reasons and for the richness that varied perspectives bring to decision-making.
In these discussions, it's crucial to focus on facts, accountability, and inclusivity, rather than sensationalist claims that distract from real problems facing society.
Trump At Mare Lago
Trump, Preparing to Challenge the Results, Puts His 2020 Playbook Into Action
Step by step, Donald J. Trump and his allies are following the strategies that caused chaos four years ago. Election officials say they are ready this time.
Image
Former President Donald Trump has been claiming that Democrats are “a bunch of cheats,” as his allies in battleground states spread distorted reports of mishaps at the polls to push a narrative of widespread fraud.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
By Jim Rutenberg and Alan Feuer
Nov. 2, 2024Updated 9:44 a.m. ET
Former President Donald J. Trump and his allies are rolling out a late-stage campaign strategy that borrows heavily from the subversive playbook he used to challenge his loss four years ago.
This time, however, he is counting on reinforcements from outside groups built on the false notion of a stolen election.
With Election Day only three days away, Mr. Trump is already claiming the Democrats are “a bunch of cheats,” as his allies in battleground states spread distorted reports of mishaps at the polls to push a narrative of widespread fraud.
Mr. Trump and his most prominent supporters have pointed to partisan pollingand betting markets to claim that he is heading for a “crushing victory,” as his top surrogate Elon Musk recently put it. The expectation helps set the stage for disbelief and outrage among his supporters should he lose.
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And in a direct echo of his failed — and, prosecutors say, illegal — bid to remain in power after the 2020 election, some of his most influential advisers are suggesting he will yet again seek to claim victory before all the votes are counted.
Such a move ushered in his efforts to deny his defeat four years ago and helped set the stage for the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
In many respects, though, the effort that led to Jan. 6 never ended.
“It’s been four years of spreading lies about elections and recruiting volunteers to challenge the system, filing litigation,’’ said Joanna Lydgate, the chief executive of States United Democracy Center, a nonprofit group that works with state officials to bolster confidence in their elections. “What we’re seeing today is all of that coming to fruition.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to an email seeking comment.
In a statement, Dana Remus, a top lawyer for Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, said, “It isn’t surprising that he is already questioning the results of a still ongoing election” and added, “He failed when he tried this in 2020, and he will fail again.”
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Polls show the race is effectively tied, leaving the possibility that Mr. Trump will win and have no reason to dispute the outcome.
In that case, the question of whether to accept the results would fall to Ms. Harris, who has said she would uphold “free and fair elections” and the “peaceful transfer of power.”
For all the similarities, there are important differences between now and 2020, some of which reassure the coalition of civil rights lawyers, Democrats, Republicans and election administrators working to prevent a repeat of 2020:
- Congress has passed a new law, the Electoral Count Reform Act, meant to make it harder to stop the final certification of the results by Congress on Jan. 6, as Mr. Trump tried to do four years ago.
- Mr. Trump no longer has control of the federal government — which he sought to use to press his 2020 case. In the states, there are fewer like-minded Republicans in key positions of power than there were four years ago.
- Some of the loudest clarions for stolen election theories have paid heavily for circulating them, including Fox News, which last year paid Dominion Voting Systems $787 million to settle a lawsuit over the network’s promotion of false theories that Dominion’s machines had switched votes.
- And the experience of 2020, along with more recent clashes over voting issues, has taught election administrators lessons about fortifying themselves against a similar effort this year.
But the threat of another chaotic post-election period remains.
While Mr. Trump no longer has control of the federal government, a movement of activists has succeeded in putting election-doubting conservatives in position across the voting system, as poll watchers, election workers and even local officials in charge of certifying local results.
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The new law has loopholes that Mr. Trump could try to exploit.
For instance, the law sets a new, hard deadline by which states must send their final, certified election results to Washington ahead of the Electoral College vote.
But some Trump-aligned officials have called for blocking certification at the local level, raising the possibility that the process could be stalled ahead of that deadline. The law has no clear remedy for cases where it is missed.
Finally, though some news organizations like Fox and Newsmax have faced serious defamation claims for spreading conspiracy theories about Dominion voting machines, the major social media platforms have dramatically scaled back efforts to curb false content.
None have gone farther than X, formerly Twitter, whose founder, Mr. Musk, has actively used the platform to promote the sense that Mr. Trump is destined to win and to spread his own false voting claims.
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“There has been a lot of investment by allies of President Trump to suggest that his victory is inevitable,” said David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, a nonpartisan organization that advises election officials. “That’s the expectation being set among some of his supporters.”
Step 1: Claim Victory
ImageCredit...Adam Gray for The New York Times
The period leading up to Election Day has featured several scenes that seem to be ripped from court filings in the federal case charging Mr. Trump with election interference over his actions after his defeat in 2020. (Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty.)
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UpdatedNov. 2, 2024, 9:36 a.m. ET49 minutes ago
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When Stephen K. Bannon, an influential right-wing media figure and close Trump adviser, was released from prison on Tuesday, he quickly told reporters that Mr. Trump should act preemptively on election night and simply claim victory.
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As Mr. Bannon said: “He should stand up and say: ‘Hey, I’ve won this. And we have teams right now that are going to make sure that this thing is not going to be stolen.’”
In recently filed court papers naming Mr. Bannon as a co-conspirator in Mr. Trump’s federal election interference case, the special counsel, Jack Smith, noted that Mr. Bannon had said the same thing four years ago.
“What Trump’s going to do is just declare victory, right?” he said, according to the records, later adding, “That doesn’t mean he’s the winner, he’s just going to say he’s the winner.”
Mr. Trump did just that, unleashing a barrage of lawsuits challenging swing-state results, nearly all of which failed as various judges found claims of fraud to be lacking.
That legal failure did not stop his efforts.
He and several allies then sought to convince Republican legislators in states that President Joseph R. Biden had won that they had the power to submit their own slates of pro-Trump Electoral College delegates, effectively rejecting the popular vote. Several of those involved in that operation were later indicted.
The new law specifies that only governors or other executives can send electors to Washington, cutting state legislatures out of the process. Yet, some Trump allies have already suggested they could again turn to state lawmakers.
An architect of the 2020 strategy, John Eastman, recently told Politico that he believed the new law was unconstitutional. (Mr. Eastman is under indictment in Arizona and Georgia over his 2020 election activities and has pleaded not guilty in both states.)
Step 2: Sow Doubt
ImageCredit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
Elections always bring a range of human and technological errors, but Mr. Trump and his allies have distorted the nature of such events, painting them as evidence of Democratic wrongdoing.
“They’ve already started cheating in Lancaster,” Mr. Trump said at a rally on Tuesday night in Allentown, Pa. A day earlier, he had posted on Truth Social that Lancaster County, Pa., had discovered “Fake Ballots and Forms.”
Pennsylvania was “cheating and getting caught at large-scale levels rarely seen before,” he declared later in the week.
In reality, the episode in Lancaster was worrisome but was not evidence of widespread of malfeasance. Election officials said that a batch of suspicious registration applications — not ballots — had been turned in by a canvassing firm. Officials reported them to law enforcement agencies.
In 2020, it was a fringe of Mr. Trump’s advisers and allies that cheered him on. Now, the entire party machinery — and prominent and influential allies — are using various levers to claim publicly that the only way Mr. Trump can lose is through cheating.
The Republican National Committee, which is now under the joint leadership of the former president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, and the one-time party counsel, Michael Whatley, has made “election integrity” a top priority. (The lawyer in charge of the committee’s “election integrity” team, Christina Bobb, was charged with conspiracy by the Arizona attorney general in connection with her efforts to keep Mr. Trump in power four years ago; she pleaded not guilty.)
Last week, Mr. Whatley posted online about the arrest of a woman at polling station in Delaware County, Pa., who had been urging voters to remain in line, calling the incident election interference. The local authorities later defended the arrest, saying the woman had been acting disruptively.
Using another tactic from 2020, Mr. Trump and his allies have also complained this year that states like Pennsylvania and Arizona are unlikely to finish counting votes until well after Election Day, suggesting the delays are somehow improper or nefarious.
In 2020, conspiracy theories about the pace of the vote count were some of the first to swirl in the days after Mr. Trump’s defeat.
Election officials note that mail ballots can take more time to count and that delays are not a sign of trouble. Still, they have been working to speed the process, knowing they are in a race against misinformation.
“You’ve got to decrease the amount of time,’’ said the secretary of state in Nevada, Cisco Aguilar. “Shut down the chatter.”
Step 3: Disrupt
ImageBallot counting at the Maricopa County Ballot Tabulation Center in Phoenix for the presidential primary in March.Credit...Rebecca Noble for The New York Times
While Mr. Trump’s 2020 effort was chiefly focused on disrupting the last step of the election — certification of the results in Congress — Mr. Trump’s allies this year have also zeroed in on vulnerabilities at the beginning of the process.
That starts with about 10,000 local jurisdictions where officials have a mandate to certify the votes before sending them up to their state capitals, which upon their own statewide certifications then send their totals and delegate slates on to Washington.
Though the task is prescribed by law as mandatory throughout the states, board or commission members in at least 20 counties across eight states have moved to block certification, in some rare cases succeeding at least temporarily.
Officials across the swing states have prepared legal papers to force any recalcitrant boards to certify results on time.
Both sides are paying close attention to the process, which Mr. Bannon seemed to hint at during his remarks this week.
“The only thing that matters,’’ he said, “is votes that can be certified from American citizens, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.
Jim Rutenberg is a writer at large for The Times and The New York Times Magazine and writes most often about media and politics. More about Jim Rutenberg
Alan Feuer covers extremism and political violence for The Times, focusing on the criminal cases involving the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and against former President Donald J. Trump. More about Alan Feuer
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I said this earlier if Trump wins, tell him to shut the fuck up about illegal activity that happened to him, he needs the cart those Democrat clowns off to prison if he finds they committed crimes. If P Diddy can get sent to lock up then so can Obama, Hillary, Biden, and Kamala Harris. Nobody has time for their criminal shenanigans such as assassination attempts. He did not take care of these fools and probably lead to his assassination attempt and dumped his problems on to me.
He got a taste of what happens when you don't prosecute a criminal who gains political power. His legacy members of his administration will come after you with nonsense prosecution.
I believe he was being used as racial cover. He has already undermined unions, tried to come after me, was used by the Supreme Court to strike down components of the voting rights act targeting the South.
He got a taste of what happens when you don't prosecute a criminal who gains political power. His legacy members of his administration will come after you with nonsense prosecution.
I believe he was being used as racial cover. He has already undermined unions, tried to come after me, was used by the Supreme Court to strike down components of the voting rights act targeting the South.
Last edited:
Trump Suggests Abraham Lincoln Should’ve Let the South Keep a Little Slavery
He answered a 10-year-old’s question about his favorite president by saying Lincoln should have “settled” the Civil War.
BY BESS LEVIN
OCTOBER 18, 2024
www.vanityfair.com
Racist text messages referencing slavery raise alarms in multiple states and prompt investigations
Racist text messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the country this week after they were sent to Black men, women and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies
By AYANNA ALEXANDER, ALI SWENSON and GARY FIELDS Associated Press
November 7, 2024
abcnews.go.com
He answered a 10-year-old’s question about his favorite president by saying Lincoln should have “settled” the Civil War.
BY BESS LEVIN
OCTOBER 18, 2024
Trump Suggests Abraham Lincoln Should’ve Let the South Keep a Little Slavery
He answered a 10-year-old’s question about his favorite president by saying Lincoln should have “settled” the Civil War.
Racist text messages referencing slavery raise alarms in multiple states and prompt investigations
Racist text messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the country this week after they were sent to Black men, women and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies
By AYANNA ALEXANDER, ALI SWENSON and GARY FIELDS Associated Press
November 7, 2024
Racist text messages referencing slavery raise alarms in multiple states and prompt investigations
Racist text messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the country this week after they were sent to Black men, women and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies
Learned from democrats in 2016. Several Hollywood stars made a few commercials advocating for the electors to be faithless, and for Congress not to certify him.Trump, Preparing to Challenge the Results, Puts His 2020 Playbook Into Action
Step by step, Donald J. Trump and his allies are following the strategies that caused chaos four years ago. Election officials say they are ready this time.
Image
Former President Donald Trump has been claiming that Democrats are “a bunch of cheats,” as his allies in battleground states spread distorted reports of mishaps at the polls to push a narrative of widespread fraud.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
By Jim Rutenberg and Alan Feuer
Nov. 2, 2024Updated 9:44 a.m. ET
Former President Donald J. Trump and his allies are rolling out a late-stage campaign strategy that borrows heavily from the subversive playbook he used to challenge his loss four years ago.
This time, however, he is counting on reinforcements from outside groups built on the false notion of a stolen election.
With Election Day only three days away, Mr. Trump is already claiming the Democrats are “a bunch of cheats,” as his allies in battleground states spread distorted reports of mishaps at the polls to push a narrative of widespread fraud.
Mr. Trump and his most prominent supporters have pointed to partisan pollingand betting markets to claim that he is heading for a “crushing victory,” as his top surrogate Elon Musk recently put it. The expectation helps set the stage for disbelief and outrage among his supporters should he lose.
ADVERTISEMENT
And in a direct echo of his failed — and, prosecutors say, illegal — bid to remain in power after the 2020 election, some of his most influential advisers are suggesting he will yet again seek to claim victory before all the votes are counted.
Such a move ushered in his efforts to deny his defeat four years ago and helped set the stage for the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
In many respects, though, the effort that led to Jan. 6 never ended.
“It’s been four years of spreading lies about elections and recruiting volunteers to challenge the system, filing litigation,’’ said Joanna Lydgate, the chief executive of States United Democracy Center, a nonprofit group that works with state officials to bolster confidence in their elections. “What we’re seeing today is all of that coming to fruition.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to an email seeking comment.
In a statement, Dana Remus, a top lawyer for Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, said, “It isn’t surprising that he is already questioning the results of a still ongoing election” and added, “He failed when he tried this in 2020, and he will fail again.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Polls show the race is effectively tied, leaving the possibility that Mr. Trump will win and have no reason to dispute the outcome.
In that case, the question of whether to accept the results would fall to Ms. Harris, who has said she would uphold “free and fair elections” and the “peaceful transfer of power.”
For all the similarities, there are important differences between now and 2020, some of which reassure the coalition of civil rights lawyers, Democrats, Republicans and election administrators working to prevent a repeat of 2020:
“You have the benefit of something having happened once before,” said the Pennsylvania secretary of state, Al Schmidt, a Republican. “You learn from it to guide you moving forward.”
- Congress has passed a new law, the Electoral Count Reform Act, meant to make it harder to stop the final certification of the results by Congress on Jan. 6, as Mr. Trump tried to do four years ago.
- Mr. Trump no longer has control of the federal government — which he sought to use to press his 2020 case. In the states, there are fewer like-minded Republicans in key positions of power than there were four years ago.
- Some of the loudest clarions for stolen election theories have paid heavily for circulating them, including Fox News, which last year paid Dominion Voting Systems $787 million to settle a lawsuit over the network’s promotion of false theories that Dominion’s machines had switched votes.
- And the experience of 2020, along with more recent clashes over voting issues, has taught election administrators lessons about fortifying themselves against a similar effort this year.
But the threat of another chaotic post-election period remains.
While Mr. Trump no longer has control of the federal government, a movement of activists has succeeded in putting election-doubting conservatives in position across the voting system, as poll watchers, election workers and even local officials in charge of certifying local results.
ADVERTISEMENT
The new law has loopholes that Mr. Trump could try to exploit.
For instance, the law sets a new, hard deadline by which states must send their final, certified election results to Washington ahead of the Electoral College vote.
But some Trump-aligned officials have called for blocking certification at the local level, raising the possibility that the process could be stalled ahead of that deadline. The law has no clear remedy for cases where it is missed.
Finally, though some news organizations like Fox and Newsmax have faced serious defamation claims for spreading conspiracy theories about Dominion voting machines, the major social media platforms have dramatically scaled back efforts to curb false content.
None have gone farther than X, formerly Twitter, whose founder, Mr. Musk, has actively used the platform to promote the sense that Mr. Trump is destined to win and to spread his own false voting claims.
ADVERTISEMENT
“There has been a lot of investment by allies of President Trump to suggest that his victory is inevitable,” said David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, a nonpartisan organization that advises election officials. “That’s the expectation being set among some of his supporters.”
Step 1: Claim Victory
Image
Credit...Adam Gray for The New York Times
The period leading up to Election Day has featured several scenes that seem to be ripped from court filings in the federal case charging Mr. Trump with election interference over his actions after his defeat in 2020. (Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty.)
2024 Election: Live Updates
Updated
Nov. 2, 2024, 9:36 a.m. ET49 minutes ago
- On the issues: Where Harris and Trump stand on climate change.
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When Stephen K. Bannon, an influential right-wing media figure and close Trump adviser, was released from prison on Tuesday, he quickly told reporters that Mr. Trump should act preemptively on election night and simply claim victory.
ADVERTISEMENT
As Mr. Bannon said: “He should stand up and say: ‘Hey, I’ve won this. And we have teams right now that are going to make sure that this thing is not going to be stolen.’”
In recently filed court papers naming Mr. Bannon as a co-conspirator in Mr. Trump’s federal election interference case, the special counsel, Jack Smith, noted that Mr. Bannon had said the same thing four years ago.
“What Trump’s going to do is just declare victory, right?” he said, according to the records, later adding, “That doesn’t mean he’s the winner, he’s just going to say he’s the winner.”
Mr. Trump did just that, unleashing a barrage of lawsuits challenging swing-state results, nearly all of which failed as various judges found claims of fraud to be lacking.
That legal failure did not stop his efforts.
He and several allies then sought to convince Republican legislators in states that President Joseph R. Biden had won that they had the power to submit their own slates of pro-Trump Electoral College delegates, effectively rejecting the popular vote. Several of those involved in that operation were later indicted.
The new law specifies that only governors or other executives can send electors to Washington, cutting state legislatures out of the process. Yet, some Trump allies have already suggested they could again turn to state lawmakers.
An architect of the 2020 strategy, John Eastman, recently told Politico that he believed the new law was unconstitutional. (Mr. Eastman is under indictment in Arizona and Georgia over his 2020 election activities and has pleaded not guilty in both states.)
Step 2: Sow Doubt
Image
Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
Elections always bring a range of human and technological errors, but Mr. Trump and his allies have distorted the nature of such events, painting them as evidence of Democratic wrongdoing.
“They’ve already started cheating in Lancaster,” Mr. Trump said at a rally on Tuesday night in Allentown, Pa. A day earlier, he had posted on Truth Social that Lancaster County, Pa., had discovered “Fake Ballots and Forms.”
Pennsylvania was “cheating and getting caught at large-scale levels rarely seen before,” he declared later in the week.
In reality, the episode in Lancaster was worrisome but was not evidence of widespread of malfeasance. Election officials said that a batch of suspicious registration applications — not ballots — had been turned in by a canvassing firm. Officials reported them to law enforcement agencies.
In 2020, it was a fringe of Mr. Trump’s advisers and allies that cheered him on. Now, the entire party machinery — and prominent and influential allies — are using various levers to claim publicly that the only way Mr. Trump can lose is through cheating.
The Republican National Committee, which is now under the joint leadership of the former president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, and the one-time party counsel, Michael Whatley, has made “election integrity” a top priority. (The lawyer in charge of the committee’s “election integrity” team, Christina Bobb, was charged with conspiracy by the Arizona attorney general in connection with her efforts to keep Mr. Trump in power four years ago; she pleaded not guilty.)
Last week, Mr. Whatley posted online about the arrest of a woman at polling station in Delaware County, Pa., who had been urging voters to remain in line, calling the incident election interference. The local authorities later defended the arrest, saying the woman had been acting disruptively.
Using another tactic from 2020, Mr. Trump and his allies have also complained this year that states like Pennsylvania and Arizona are unlikely to finish counting votes until well after Election Day, suggesting the delays are somehow improper or nefarious.
In 2020, conspiracy theories about the pace of the vote count were some of the first to swirl in the days after Mr. Trump’s defeat.
Election officials note that mail ballots can take more time to count and that delays are not a sign of trouble. Still, they have been working to speed the process, knowing they are in a race against misinformation.
“You’ve got to decrease the amount of time,’’ said the secretary of state in Nevada, Cisco Aguilar. “Shut down the chatter.”
Step 3: Disrupt
Image
Ballot counting at the Maricopa County Ballot Tabulation Center in Phoenix for the presidential primary in March.Credit...Rebecca Noble for The New York Times
While Mr. Trump’s 2020 effort was chiefly focused on disrupting the last step of the election — certification of the results in Congress — Mr. Trump’s allies this year have also zeroed in on vulnerabilities at the beginning of the process.
That starts with about 10,000 local jurisdictions where officials have a mandate to certify the votes before sending them up to their state capitals, which upon their own statewide certifications then send their totals and delegate slates on to Washington.
Though the task is prescribed by law as mandatory throughout the states, board or commission members in at least 20 counties across eight states have moved to block certification, in some rare cases succeeding at least temporarily.
Officials across the swing states have prepared legal papers to force any recalcitrant boards to certify results on time.
Both sides are paying close attention to the process, which Mr. Bannon seemed to hint at during his remarks this week.
“The only thing that matters,’’ he said, “is votes that can be certified from American citizens, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.
Jim Rutenberg is a writer at large for The Times and The New York Times Magazine and writes most often about media and politics. More about Jim Rutenberg
Alan Feuer covers extremism and political violence for The Times, focusing on the criminal cases involving the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and against former President Donald J. Trump. More about Alan Feuer
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Not-so-subtle way Russia showed Trump ‘who’s the boss’
Russian state TV presenters appeared to show photographs of Melania Trump from her modeling career, according to a post on social media platform X. The photos included shots from the January 2000 issue of British GQ where Melania appeared nude on the cover.
By Lauren Sforza | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Nov. 12, 2024
www.nj.com
Russian state TV presenters appeared to show photographs of Melania Trump from her modeling career, according to a post on social media platform X. The photos included shots from the January 2000 issue of British GQ where Melania appeared nude on the cover.
By Lauren Sforza | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Nov. 12, 2024
Not-so-subtle way Russia showed Trump ‘who’s the boss’
How has Russia reacted to Trump's victory?
Trump Thinks Putin Is His Friend. The Russians Just Issued a Humiliating Statement to the Contrary.
The psychological warfare has begun.
BY FRED KAPLAN
NOV 13, 2024
slate.com
The psychological warfare has begun.
BY FRED KAPLAN
NOV 13, 2024
Trump Thinks Putin Is His Friend. The Russians Just Issued a Humiliating Statement to the Contrary.
Putin is already messing with his head.
say his name: PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP. 2024 is the year of liberal tears 
They gonna hold Trump’s Inauguration indoors cuz “It’s Too Cold”.
Word is circulating that the organizers have discovered there will be lower turnout to his 2025 Inauguration than his 2021 Inauguration.
Cuz Trump is so sensitive about low turnout at his events, they decided to have it indoors.
Trump will now say his Inauguration will be the “Highest Rated Event” in television history.
Pure Comedy. HaHa!!!
Trump's inauguration will be held indoors due to frigid weather forecast
The last time a swearing-in was held indoors was Ronald Reagan's second inauguration.
By Amanda Terkel and Kristen Welker
January 17, 2025
www.nbcnews.com
Word is circulating that the organizers have discovered there will be lower turnout to his 2025 Inauguration than his 2021 Inauguration.
Cuz Trump is so sensitive about low turnout at his events, they decided to have it indoors.
Trump will now say his Inauguration will be the “Highest Rated Event” in television history.
Pure Comedy. HaHa!!!
Trump's inauguration will be held indoors due to frigid weather forecast
The last time a swearing-in was held indoors was Ronald Reagan's second inauguration.
By Amanda Terkel and Kristen Welker
January 17, 2025
Trump's inauguration will be held indoors due to frigid weather forecast
The last time a swearing-in was held indoors was Ronald Reagan's second inauguration.
PussiesThey gonna hold Trump’s Inauguration indoors cuz “It’s Too Cold”.
Word is circulating that the organizers have discovered there will be lower turnout to his 2025 Inauguration than his 2021 Inauguration.
Cuz Trump is so sensitive about low turnout at his events, they decided to have it indoors.
Trump will now say his Inauguration will be the “Highest Rated Event” in television history.
Pure Comedy. HaHa!!!
Trump's inauguration will be held indoors due to frigid weather forecast
The last time a swearing-in was held indoors was Ronald Reagan's second inauguration.
By Amanda Terkel and Kristen Welker
January 17, 2025
Trump's inauguration will be held indoors due to frigid weather forecast
The last time a swearing-in was held indoors was Ronald Reagan's second inauguration.
Obama first inauguration was the same temperature.
Dude is WEAK
I don't even plan on watching that bullshit. You know it's going to be a shit show. I'd have a lot more respect for Biden if he didn't even show up for it.They gonna hold Trump’s Inauguration indoors cuz “It’s Too Cold”.
Word is circulating that the organizers have discovered there will be lower turnout to his 2025 Inauguration than his 2021 Inauguration.
Cuz Trump is so sensitive about low turnout at his events, they decided to have it indoors.
Trump will now say his Inauguration will be the “Highest Rated Event” in television history.
Pure Comedy. HaHa!!!
Trump's inauguration will be held indoors due to frigid weather forecast
The last time a swearing-in was held indoors was Ronald Reagan's second inauguration.
By Amanda Terkel and Kristen Welker
January 17, 2025
Trump's inauguration will be held indoors due to frigid weather forecast
The last time a swearing-in was held indoors was Ronald Reagan's second inauguration.
Alabama community demands accountability for flood damage before Biden's term ends
Advocates followed top federal officials around the country to call for action. The properties of the historically Black Shiloh community in Coffee County, Alabama, have been damaged since the state widened Highway 84.
ByJared Kofsky andMaia Rosenfeld
January 17, 2025
abcnews.go.com
…After six years of frequent flooding, two presidential administrations and numerous reassurances from top officials, homeowners like Williams who live in the majority-Black Shiloh community say they are still waiting for state and federal agencies to make them whole…
Advocates followed top federal officials around the country to call for action. The properties of the historically Black Shiloh community in Coffee County, Alabama, have been damaged since the state widened Highway 84.
ByJared Kofsky andMaia Rosenfeld
January 17, 2025
Alabama community demands accountability for flood damage before Biden's term ends
After years of flooding and two presidential administrations, homeowners in Shiloh say they are still waiting for state and federal agencies to make them whole.
…After six years of frequent flooding, two presidential administrations and numerous reassurances from top officials, homeowners like Williams who live in the majority-Black Shiloh community say they are still waiting for state and federal agencies to make them whole…
Is That Trump Selling Pudding On Pakistani Street?
January 14, 2025
There's definitely a resemblance between Saleem Bagga and the 45th/47th president of the United States. Saleem pushes his brightly-colored cart around the Pakistani city of Sahiwal, serving up kheer. It's a sweet treat made of rice, sugar, and milk. Saleem, who has albinism, gets special attention for his blonde 'do and Trump-like looks. He says it's been good for the pudding business – some customers even want selfies with the "president."
January 14, 2025
There's definitely a resemblance between Saleem Bagga and the 45th/47th president of the United States. Saleem pushes his brightly-colored cart around the Pakistani city of Sahiwal, serving up kheer. It's a sweet treat made of rice, sugar, and milk. Saleem, who has albinism, gets special attention for his blonde 'do and Trump-like looks. He says it's been good for the pudding business – some customers even want selfies with the "president."