Top Republicans are rushing to embrace a new 2024 election fraud narrative pushed by ex-President Donald Trump, highlighting their efforts to appease their party’s presumptive nominee. Prominent party figures are increasingly suggesting they will only recognize the 2024 presidential election results if there is no fraud, despite there being no evidence to indicate irregularities. This rhetoric continues even as many Republican-led state legislatures have tightened voting rules based on Trump’s false claims of fraud in the 2020 election.
Cruz’s Controversial Comments
Senator Ted Cruz exemplified this trend on Wednesday during an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. Cruz, who previously supported Trump despite personal insults from the former president, falsely claimed the 2020 election was marred by fraud. Multiple courts, including the US Supreme Court, rejected Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud, and Trump’s own attorney general, William Barr, concluded there was no substantial fraud that could have altered the election outcome.
When Collins asked Cruz if he would accept the 2024 election results, he called the question “ridiculous.” Cruz asserted, “We have an entire election law system: that people challenge elections, elections get overturned, voter fraud gets proven. That happens all the time.” Cruz, who objected to the 2020 election results in Arizona on January 6, 2021, implied that significant fraud occurred in 2020 and could happen again in 2024.
Fear of Trump’s Influence
Republicans’ reluctance to cross Trump underscores his enduring power within the GOP. The fear of retribution from Trump, who has a history of ending political careers by turning against individual lawmakers, appears to motivate their positioning. This preemptive undermining of the 2024 election’s integrity poses a serious threat to democracy. By casting doubt on the election even before it occurs, these Republicans are laying the groundwork for contesting the results if Trump loses, potentially leading to prolonged legal battles and further erosion of public trust in the electoral process.
Trump’s Renewed Election Denialism
Trump’s recent comments to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel echo his pre-2020 election rhetoric, where he suggested the election might not be fair and later claimed it was stolen after losing to Biden. Trump maintains that any election he loses must be fraudulent, a narrative that has gained traction among millions of Republican voters. His false claims about the 2020 election led to the violent Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, and he continues to perpetuate these lies despite facing federal and state indictments for attempting to overturn the election.
The Potential Impact
Cruz and other senior Republicans’ comments serve to reinforce the expectation among some voters that the upcoming election will be unfair. This is despite the lack of evidence that the 2024 election, or any other US election, will be compromised by significant fraud. Historically, voter fraud in the US has occurred at extremely low levels.
By perpetuating these unfounded fears, Republicans are not only undermining confidence in the democratic process but also setting the stage for potential chaos in the aftermath of the 2024 election, should the results not favor their party.