Trump falsely accuses Black cities of ‘horrible corruption’ in elections

Donald Trump exclusively calling out cities that have a majority Black and Brown population is not a coincidence to critics of the president.

President Donald Trump called out majority Black cities, accusing them of “horrible corruption” in their elections, during remarks inside the Oval Office on Tuesday.

After signing a funding bill that ended a four-day government shutdown, Trump was asked to clarify earlier remarks in which he said U.S. elections, which are constitutionally controlled by the states, should be “nationalized.” In response, the president repeated his years-long conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged” against him.

“But go to 2020, look at the facts that are coming out, rigged, crooked elections…Take a look at Detroit. Take a look at Pennsylvania. Take a look at Philadelphia. You go take a look at Atlanta. Look at some of the places that [had] horrible corruption on elections,” said Trump, referencing all cities that are majority Black and run by Black mayors.

The president continued, “The federal government should not allow that. The federal government should get involved. These are agents of the federal government to count the votes. If they can’t count the votes legally and honestly, then somebody else should take over.”

Despite Trump’s false claims, there is no evidence that proves there was any mass voter fraud in the 2020 election that would’ve changed its outcome. More than 60 lawsuits challenging ballot counting filed by the Trump campaign, including in the cities Trump called out on Tuesday, were dismissed in federal court for lack of evidence. Many false claims made by Trump and his allies about mass voter fraud have been repeatedly debunked.

“I serve on the House committee that oversees elections in the most important swing state in the country. I fought back against his lunacy in 2019 – 2020 and every day since,” Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who represents Philadelphia, told theGrio. “Pennsylvania will not be taking our marching orders from the leader of the Epstein caucus on how to run elections or anything else. We have a Constitution, believe or not — and everything he said shows utter contempt for it and the rule of law.”

Trump exclusively calling out cities that have a majority Black and Brown population is not a coincidence to critics of the president.

“We’ve seen this pattern of targeting Black voters for years — racially gerrymandered maps, a Trump DOJ determined to gut the Voting Rights Act, and relentless attacks on mail-in voting that many Black voters rely on,” Democratic strategist Marcus W. Robinson told theGrio. “By calling for Republicans to ‘take over’ elections, Trump is doubling down on a calculated effort to erase Black political power.”

Following the Trump campaign’s attempts to thwart the 2020 election in Detroit’s Wayne County, a lawsuit filed by Black voters accused Trump of voter suppression.

“Donald Trump is spewing the same dangerous and reckless conspiracy theories that he has spread for years—but the facts remain that the 2020 election was fair and secure, and Detroit’s elections are properly managed,” Marseille Allen, managing regional director at the Michigan Democratic Party, told theGrio. “The U.S. Constitution is clear that states are in charge of elections, not the federal government, and no amount of lies from Donald Trump will change that.”

Allen continued, “Trump is lashing out to try and distract from the fact that his disastrous policies are hurting people, particularly Black Michiganders who are feeling the effects every day of skyrocketing prices and Republicans’ harmful agenda to rip away health care. Michiganders, and particularly Detroiters, are tired of Donald Trump’s constant lying and gaslighting.”

Trump’s targeting of Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Detroit comes after the FBI seized 2020 election ballots and other materials from the Fulton County elections office on Jan. 28.

Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said the county plans to sue the Department of Justice and the FBI over “the legality of the warrant and the seizure of sensitive election records, and force the government to return the ballots taken.”

“Donald Trump continues to use taxpayer dollars to direct his administration to chase conspiracy theories about an election that he lost six years ago,” said former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is running for Georgia governor in this year’s election. “It’s alarming that we continue to see this administration abuse its power and threaten free and fair elections, while families in Georgia are struggling with rising costs and face losing their health care coverage due to Trump’s cuts.”