Trump Campaign Baselessly Suggests Iowa Caucuses Are “Rigged”

Yuri Gripas/CNP/Zuma

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

With Iowa caucus results stalled as the state’s Democratic party performs “quality control” and addresses “inconsistencies,” Republicans are already alleging that the election is rigged. There is, of course, no evidence of that.

Brad Parscale, President Donald Trump’s campaign manager, took to Twitter Monday night to speculate that “quality control” meant “rigged,” echoing Trump’s repeated claims that the Democratic National Committee was rigging the election against Sen. Bernie Sanders. The president’s sons made similarly baseless claims:

Bogus allegations of election fraud have become a Republican mainstay in recent years, as the party seeks to restrict voting rights and suppress turnout. 

For its part, Sanders’ campaign said earlier Monday that the election is “not currently rigged.”

Mandy McClure, communications director for the Iowa Democratic Party, has called the delay a “reporting issue,” according to the New York Times. Many precinct chairs have had difficulties using a new app to report caucus results. Those problems are serious, but they don’t constitute a rigged election.

Listen to Mother Jones’ Ari Berman and Tim Murphy discuss the fallout from the Iowa voting debacle on this week’s special early edition of the Mother Jones Podcast:

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate