Trump Slammed for Encouraging Supporters To Intimidate Voters, Poll Officials: "Too Much at Stake"

Critics blasted former president Donald Trump for what appeared to be yet another encouraging pitch to his MAGA followers to intimidate voters and election workers.

Trump made the unfounded accusation that his political rivals “cheat like hell” when he made consistent allegations about voting fraud. He proceeded to cast doubt on the validity of the November election by encouraging his followers, “When you see them, you get out there and start screaming. Start screaming.” Trump's opponent President Joe Biden's re-election campaign's official account on X, formerly Twitter, posted a clip of the video online, and under the video, critics roasted Trump for what they perceived as an undemocratic statement to the crowd.

A user slammed on X, "I can't wait for one of those troglodyte motherfuckers to try it when I go vote." Another user took a shot at Trump, pleading with voters on X, saying, "Be prepared America, he’s telling his cult right now to go out and intimidate voters, poll workers, and election officials. Too much is at stake. Be prepared and #VoteBlue2024ProtectDemocracy." 

Another user slammed Trump and his voters, sharing on X, "Let’s be clear: He means take your guns to the polls and start shooting." Yet another user questioned Republicans on their choice to back Trump, asking on X, "How long until Republicans claim he was talking about the auto industry?" Another user expressed shock at how Trump could be the nominee, sharing on X, "Talk about voter intimidation! I can't believe this is the GOP nominee!"

Another user, a poll worker, expressed apprehension on X at what MAGA supporters could do, "I’m a poll worker. Great to know what to expect from Trump supporters in November." Another user slammed his Jan 6 actions, saying on X, "Literally coup’ed the Capitol last election and the party that committed, by far, all the voter and election fraud."

On April 13, while campaigning in Pennsylvania, Trump repeated his false claims that he won the 2020 election and that Democrats had cheated him out of a victory, two days before his first criminal trial was scheduled to start in Manhattan, per The New York Times. He presented the indictments against him as part of a larger Democratic plot to prevent him from becoming president.

He advised MAGA supporters to "guard the vote" during an event in Iowa last month. “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’ve got to watch those votes when they come in,” the former president said.

Susan Benesch, the director of the Dangerous Speech Project, feels that Trump's comments implied that the result of the election was "foregone," as she told The Associated Press at the time. “Is it actually guarding the election against fraud, or is it guarding the election against a result in which Trump is not declared the winner?” she asked.