Lara Trump Deflects When Confronted About False ‘20% Fraud’ Claim
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Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of Donald Trump and co-chair of the Republican National Committee, was pressed during a live CNN interview Tuesday after attempting to sidestep false claims made by the former president regarding Pennsylvania mail-in ballots. Anchor Kasie Hunt directly challenged Trump about a recent Truth Social post where Donald Trump falsely claimed that “20% of the Mail-In Ballots in Pennsylvania are fraudulent.”
Hunt wasted no time demanding an explanation, quoting the former president’s post. “So, why is he saying that 20 percent of them are fraudulent?” she asked, cutting into Lara Trump’s response.
Lara Trump attempted to reframe the narrative, initially avoiding a direct answer. “Donald Trump wants every voter, no matter if you’re voting Republican, Democrat, or third-party, to feel comfortable…” she began, but Hunt swiftly interrupted, pushing her for clarity on the claim.
On Sunday, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, “An interview by Tucker Carlson of an election expert indicates that 20% of the Mail-In Ballots in Pennsylvania are fraudulent. We will WIN Pennsylvania by a lot unless the Dems are allowed to CHEAT. THE RNC MUST ACTIVATE, NOW!!!” Trump’s post cited an undated interview with an unnamed expert, demanding the FBI investigate supposed Democratic voter fraud.
The claim appears to stem from a conversation between former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Justin Haskins from the right-wing Heartland Institute. However, the study mentioned in the interview has been debunked. The Washington Post’s Philip Bump discredited the data back in December, pointing to issues with the conservative pollster Rasmussen’s survey that the claim relied on. Bump noted, “This instantly fails the smell test,” highlighting that a fifth of voters claiming to have committed fraud by voting in states they no longer lived in seemed improbable.
Lara Trump, faced with Hunt’s insistence, tried to steer the conversation toward general election integrity. “He’s specifically referencing information from the 2020 election,” she said, before pivoting. “What we’re talking about right now is making sure that every vote matters and every vote counts…”
Hunt wasn’t satisfied, demanding further evidence. “What information do we have? What evidence is there that 20 percent of the mail-in ballots were fraudulent?” Lara Trump admitted, “I didn’t see that report. So I’d have to go back and look at it,” ultimately dodging any concrete defense of the misleading claim.
