Trump Slammed by Commissioner as He Attempts to ‘Sow Doubt’, Asks Voters to ‘Guard Votes’ in Philly

Former President Donald Trump was criticized by Philadelphia City Commissioner Lisa Deeley for trying to “sow doubt” about the 2024 elections by advising supporters to “guard the vote” in areas with a high concentration of Democrats, including Philadelphia.

“This is nothing new; Trump says these things before every election,” Commissioner Deeley slammed Trump, reported Raw Story, in a post on social media platform X, “and I expect we will hear more of this over the next year.”

After reiterating his baseless allegations of election fraud in 2020, Trump advised supporters to closely monitor voting in three of the largest cities in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia on December 2 during a campaign visit in Ankeny, Iowa. “The most important part of what’s coming up is to guard the vote,” Trump was heard telling supporters. “And you should go into Detroit, and you should go into Philadelphia, and you should go into some of these places, Atlanta, and you should go into some of these places, and we have to watch those votes when they come in.”

In response to Trump's statements, Deeley, one of the commissioners in charge of Philadelphia's voting process, stated, “I can only assume it is to try and sow doubt about the validity of the election results.”

The commissioner added that in 2016, Trump said, “They had to watch and make sure people didn’t vote five times. In 2020, there was ‘Bad Things Happen in Philadelphia.’ Each of those elections, 2016 and 2020, was completely fair and accurate, and that is what we will continue to deliver in 2024.”

In 2020, the procedure for counting votes in Philadelphia took many days, finally favoring Joe Biden, despite protests by both pro-Trump and anti-Trump groups in the city. With several ineffective lawsuits, the Trump campaign contested the election results in Pennsylvania and other states. The former president has insisted that the election was "stolen" by illegal tactics, even though he didn't have any proof.

Deeley stated that she felt compelled to reply to Trump's remarks only “because he said it” when contacted by The Philadelphia Inquirer. “When a former president is spreading disinformation, it’s up to us to be truth-tellers,” said Deeley.

Deeley stated that she anticipates 2024 will go more smoothly than 2020, due in part to the fact that the pandemic has subsided and her office has had a lot more experience handling larger mail-in ballot quantities. Deeley stated that her office has not received any threats and does not currently anticipate any operational issues, even though the 2020 elections were delayed and witnessed many protests from both sides. “I would say that the former president is starting the calls out of his playbook a little early this time,” she said.