# Trump releases argument that the 2020 election was stolen **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 3, 2024, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548 "2024-01-03T12:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/41 "2024-01-04T16:08:25Z")
In November 2020, Trump hired a former GOP gubernatorial candidate, Ken Block, to investigate claims of voter fraud and provide evidence that would stand up in court. Block and his stats company reported back to Trump that they found no evidence of voter fraud that could have affected the results. Trump ignored the report and kept saying the election was stolen. Block has written an op-ed in _USA Today_, outlining his findings. Apparently a book is forthcoming as well. > **[Trump paid me to find voter fraud. Then he lied after I found 2020 election...](https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2024/01/02/trump-lies-voter-fraud-2020-impact-2024-election/72057016007/)** > > My company's contract with the Trump campaign obligated us to deliver evidence of voter fraud. The small amount of fraud I found was bipartisan. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/42 "2024-01-04T16:16:14Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Where either an impartial jury or a nonpartisan judge makes a ruling. We’re at a point where a lot of people don’t believe either of these things actually exist. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/43 "2024-01-04T16:48:12Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Yes, in 2022, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled drop boxes are illegal. The stats following show how drop boxes were used in the 2020 election and how they could have been abused. It’s not saying that the drop boxes were illegal in 2020, it’s saying that they should have been. But their reasoning is horribly circular here. The boxes were made illegal in 2022 because Republicans argued that they were wide open to abuse by those who would steal the election, and what is the primary evidence that Trump uses to support the notion that they were open to abuse, that they were made illegal in 2022. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/44 "2024-01-04T17:25:04Z")
L’etat profond c’est moi! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/45 "2024-01-04T18:57:12Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > But their reasoning is horribly circular here. When the only reasoning you have is either circular or moronic, you go with the circular. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/46 "2024-01-05T04:26:47Z")
The evidence clearly points to both. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/47 "2024-01-15T19:06:36Z")
> **[FactChecking Trump's Iowa Town Hall - FactCheck.org](https://www.factcheck.org/2024/01/factchecking-trumps-iowa-town-hall/)** > > The Republican presidential front-runner repeated many claims he has made before. - Trump falsely claimed that his administration “would have started to pay down our debt” by selling U.S. energy to Europe and Asia, if not for the COVID-19 pandemic. One budget expert called the idea “baffling.” - He stated definitely that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 originated in a lab, despite a lack of credible evidence. - Trump repeated many talking points we’ve fact-checked before, on taxes, immigration, the economy, abortion and military conflicts. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/48 "2024-01-15T19:22:15Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > - Trump falsely claimed that his administration “would have started to pay down our debt” by selling U.S. energy to Europe and Asia, if not for the COVID-19 pandemic. One budget expert called the idea “baffling.” He just really doesn’t understand how international trade works, does he? “The US” doesn’t sell things to “other countries”. US based companies sell stuff to other companies in other countries. The only way the US government makes money off this is if they impose export tariffs, or impose income taxes on the companies, both of which makes US exports less competitive over all, so if his goal was to “drive down the debt”, he’d be doing it at the cost of decreasing US exports. Either that, or he was planning to nationalize the oil industries. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/49 "2024-01-15T19:26:19Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Either that, or he was planning to nationalize the oil industries. Alternatively (hear me out here), he’s a complete imbecile. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2024, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/50 "2024-01-15T21:11:19Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I’d be curious for any explanation Trump might care to offer as to how exactly the dog ate his homework here. So there was one single copy of “the evidence” that was going to exonerate Trump but that evil secret-Democrat Liz Cheney somehow got her hands on _all of it_ and made it disappear? Is that what happened now? It’s like an episode of _24_, set in the universe of _Idiocracy_. You made me think again of the lost flash drive thing on FOX. Tucker Carlson made the claim that they had the goods on Biden – smoking gun documents – but they were sent in the mail and were now missing, and implied the deep state got to them. When people started making fun of FOX for just mailing a flash drive instead of sending digitally on an encrypted channel, and not keeping backups, FOX revealed that they did in fact have a copy of the documents. And, as we all know, the documents were so incriminating that we hear about them _all_ the ever again. It’s not like Republicans _more than 3 years later_ are still talking about trying to find evidence. > **[Why Did Tucker Carlson Mail Hunter Biden Documents on a Flash Drive?](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/why-did-tucker-carlson-send-a-flash-drive-through-the-mail.html)** > > Carlson’s purportedly damning package on Biden family corruption wasn’t stolen, though it did turn out he sent digital documents through the mail. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/51 "2024-01-16T02:46:45Z")
Within the past half-hour, I heard on MSNBC that 65% of entrance-polled Iowa Republican caucus goers believed the election was stolen. That’s going to be quite a biased survey, because only hardcore people are going to go out in this frigid weather. ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/52 "2024-01-16T07:46:55Z")
Yeah that one number stuck out to me among all of the polling data MSNBC was running tonight in their coverage. It seemed high I think? But then I had to remind myself that this was the hardest of the hardcore conservative base with a lot of MAGAt’s in there not the general electorate or even Republicans nationwide. Or maybe I’m just giving us too much credit. Regardless I’m sure a general poll would show that number to be a lot lower. I don’t know what other current polling data shows but I’d imagine only TFG’s base truly believes that. So 30% or so? Still too f\*\*\*\*\*\* high. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548/53 "2024-01-16T17:41:42Z")
> [@Jihi](#): > > I don’t know what other current polling data shows but I’d imagine only TFG’s base truly believes that. So 30% or so? This is from a [Jan 4](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/01/04/jan-6-trump-voters-believe-fraud-2024/72072407007/) article: > [@](#): > > But in the poll, two-thirds (67%) of those supporting Trump said they didn’t believe Biden had been legitimately elected in 2020, a debunked assertion that Trump has continued to trumpet at rallies and on social media. That view has little traction among other voters: 98% of those supporting Biden and 82% of those supporting a third party said he was legitimately elected. This roughly lines up with the Iowa number (2/3 of GOP voters believe 2020 was stolen). The top-line number in that poll was 39% for Trump, which would mean your estimate is about right - 30% nation-wide believe the claim that Trump actually won in 2020. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-releases-argument-that-the-2020-election-was-stolen/995548.md?page=2)