Jul 16, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Exclusive: Trump Jr. claims only "cheating" can stop a GOP win in 2024

Erin Doherty

Photo of Donald Trump Jr. and Mike Allen on stage. — Photo credit: Lindsay Stayton on behalf of Axios

Donald Trump Jr. told Axios' Mike Allen on Tuesday that if former President Trump loses in November, it will be because of "cheating," while repeating his father's frequent false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Why it matters: Trump Jr.'s remarks echo former President Trump's frequent comments seeking to sow doubt on election proceedings ahead of November.

Trump Jr., speaking during an Axios House event at the Republican National Convention, said that "we're going to have to make sure we have people watching [the election] very closely."
"I don't think that Joe Biden over-performed only in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, I just don't believe that's real," Trump Jr. said.
An AP review found fewer than 500 instances of voter fraud in 2020 between the six key battlegrounds, "a number that would have made no difference in the 2020 presidential election," AP writes. Virtually every instance of fraud was an individual act.

Zoom out: Trump's campaign has started to build an expansive network of "election integrity" lawyers and poll watchers for November, Axios' Sophia Cai and Alex Thompson reported.

During the debate last month, Trump did not unequivocally commit to accepting the 2024 election results.
He said that he will accept the election results in November if it is a "fair and legal and good election."

Go deeper: Listen to Republicans on whether they'll accept 2024 election results

Add Axios on Google

Exclusive: Trump Jr. claims only "cheating" can stop a GOP win in 2024

What to read next