With just days to go until his first (and likely only) debate with Kamala Harris, Donald Trump has posted a warning on social media sites, threatening to jail anyone who “engages in immoral conduct” in the upcoming election and saying they will be under strict surveillance.
“If I win, those who committed fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, including long prison sentences, to ensure this perversion of justice never happens again,” the former president wrote, once again seeking to sow doubts about the integrity of November’s election even though fraud is extremely rare.
“Please take note,” the Republican candidate continued, “that this liability extends to lawyers, political activists, donors, illegal voters and corrupt election officials. Those who engage in immoral conduct will be sought out, caught and prosecuted at a level sadly never before seen in our country.”
Trump’s message represents his latest threat to use the presidency to retaliate. There is no evidence of fraud that Trump continues to claim tainted the 2020 election that he lost to Joe Biden. In fact, dozens of courts, Republican state officials and Trump’s own administration have said he lost fairly.
Just a few days ago, Trump himself acknowledged in a podcast interview that he did indeed “lose,” but claimed it was by a “small margin” because in fact he lost the electoral vote 306-232 and the popular vote by more than 7 million votes.
Trump campaign aides and allies have urged him to keep the focus on Harris and to turn the election into a referendum on issues such as inflation and border security, but he has been wildly off track in recent days.
Trump’s explosive statement to reporters on Friday addressed past allegations of sexual misconduct, detailing some of the allegations while denying his accusers’ claims, came after he appeared in court to appeal a conviction in which he pleaded guilty to sexual abuse, putting the spotlight on his own legal woes in the closing days of the campaign.
Trump campaigned in Wisconsin’s most Republican areas on Saturday, venting familiar grievances about everything from his own indictment to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
He did so at an outdoor rally at the Central Wisconsin Airport, speaking behind a bulletproof glass barrier due to new security regulations put in place following the July 13 assassination attempt.
There is no evidence that Biden or Vice President Harris influenced the decision by the Department of Justice or state prosecutors to indict the former president.
A New York state court found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to adult film actors he claimed had extramarital sex with. Three criminal cases are still pending accusing Trump of trying to forcibly overturn his loss to Biden in the 2020 election after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.
While the former president has eschewed traditional debate preparations, opting instead to hold rallies and events, Harris has been secluded in a historic hotel in downtown Pittsburgh since Thursday, working with aides.
The Democratic candidates have so far agreed to hold just one debate, hosted by ABC on Tuesday.
The Nov. 5 race between her and Trump is expected to be close and competitive, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released Sunday.
Shortly after the poll results were released on Sunday, Harris’ campaign sent out an email saying that “it’s too late to let up now,” despite raising $361 million in donations in August.
“We are behind in this race,” the Harris campaign said in an email. “We have a lot of work to do to ensure our victory in November, which requires us to continue to fundraise aggressively.”