Why Donald Trump Is Afraid Of A Rigged Election

Donald Trump recently gave a somber warning to Republicans, telling them that if they don’t watch carefully, the election could be rigged against them. The warning isn’t the first time Trump has alluded to an unfair process, in the primaries he also said the GOP was rigged although he ultimately won the nomination. But the DNC has given the candidate good reason to think it’s a possibility.

CBS News said Donald Trump was in a “complaining mood” Monday when he questioned the process’s legitimacy and gave a speech at his rally in Columbus, Ohio.

“I’m afraid the election’s gonna be rigged. I have to be honest.”

So why does Trump think the election might be rigged?

Fox News’ Sean Hannity asked him that shortly after the rally, according to USA Today.

Trump said, “I’ve been hearing about it for a long time.” He cited voter tallies from four years ago where some precincts seemed to have no Republican voters at all. He added, “I hope the Republicans get out there and watch very closely.”

This warning isn’t the first time Donald Trump has cried foul about the process. During the Republican primaries, he asserted the party was against him and going outside their objective role to help a more mainstream candidate. Still, in the end, Trump won the nomination and most of the party has united behind him.

On the DNC-side, however, leaked emails showed that the Democratic party did have a favorite in the race, Hillary Clinton, and as Sanders put it, they “put their thumbs on the scale,” violating the DNC charter in the process. DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned as a result.

Another slew of red flags, including large discrepancies between exit polls and final results, has soured the DNC primary election results and inspired many supporters of Bernie Sanders to leave the Democratic Party. According to Politico, many have cited data from the Election Justice USA alleging that Sanders should have won the pledged delegate majority without various DNC shenanigans.

Now, Donald Trump faces the person at the center of the allegations, and his fears that the election might be rigged seem supported by the controversy.

Still, Hillary Clinton’s spokesman Brian Fallon, believes that the real reason the GOP candidate is saying the election will be rigged is simply to de-legitimize the results before a single vote is cast.

Even for a reflexive conspiracy theorist like Trump, this is pathetic. It’s dangerous, too.https://t.co/hcd4kQ4VS9

— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) August 2, 2016

Donald Trump also thinks he received unfair political treatment at his Monday rally.

Trump fielded questions from reporters before the speech and said that the fire marshal was not allowing more people into the rally for political reasons.

“Just want to tell you – we’ve had thousands of people outside, thousands. They were turned away by – for political reasons – purely for political reasons. You oughta check it out. But it’s really politics at its lowest. Come on, lets go have a good time.”

Trump has had a difficult week politically. Republican Senator John McCain and the Veterans Of Foreign Wars recently denounced the candidate for his comments against the Khans, a Muslim family who lost a son in the Iraq War, saying “there are certain sacrosanct subjects that no amount of wordsmithing can repair once crossed.” Likewise, Donald Trump has struggled with questions on Russia and Ukraine.

Real Clear Politics aggregated polls now show that Hillary Clinton has taken a commanding lead, although it’s not clear if that’s a bump from the convention or a new equilibrium in the close race. Even without being rigged, Donald Trump has a lot of work to do to regain his election lead.

[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]