Amid a week filled with controversy, Donald Trump began to hint at his defense for a potential loss this fall.
The election is going to be rigged, he claimed on multiple occasions.
"And I'm telling you, November 8, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged," the New York billionaire told Fox News host Sean Hannity in one such example. "And I hope the Republicans are watching closely or it's going to be taken away from us."
Multiple Republicans told Business Insider Trump's assertion was both ludicrous and dangerous, as Trump would be the first presidential candidate in modern times, possibly ever, to blame an election loss on voter fraud or a rigged election.
Allen Raymond, a former GOP operative who was involved in the 2002 New Hampshire Senate election phone-jamming scandal, called Trump's continued insistence that the election will be rigged "detrimental to the Republic."
"We're not playing games anymore," he said. "This is far worse than, you remember that [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell quote about limiting [President Barack] Obama to one term? This is far more than that."
"The idea that it's rigged, I don't know what he's talking about," he continued. "I know someone that rigged elections. I mean, you know, the fact of the matter is Hillary Clinton doesn't need to rig this election. Trump's going to win Alabama and that's it. She doesn't have to do anything. It's painful to watch." |
