At a rally in Lititz, Pennsylvania, former President Donald Trump made some bold statements about the U.S. voting system. He claimed that voting machines could be hacked and pushed for significant restrictions on how people can vote, including eliminating mail-in and early voting altogether. During his speech at Lancaster Airport, which lasted almost an hour and forty minutes, he hinted that the 2020 election was somehow stolen from him.
Trump called for states to switch to paper ballots—something that’s already in place in 44 states like Pennsylvania. He expressed frustration over local election offices extending their hours leading up to the election, saying things like, Whoever heard of this stuff? We should have one day for voting and stick to paper ballots.
He also suggested that vote counting should wrap up by a certain time on election night. These elections need to be decided by nine o’clock or ten o’clock on Tuesday night, he insisted. He added that moving forward, it would be important to use voter ID and finish elections promptly.
In his remarks about Lancaster County, Trump incorrectly referred to fraudulent voter registration applications as ballots. They found 2,600 ballots all written by the same person, he claimed while dismissing critics as conspiracy theorists.
Trump didn’t hold back when it came to the media either; he joked about needing bulletproof glass at his rallies while implying anyone wanting to harm him would have to get through the press first.
He took aim at Vice President Kamala Harris too, blaming her for rising inflation and suggesting she was letting dangerous individuals cross the border. Wrapping up his rally message, Trump urged his supporters not just to vote but emphasized how crucial it was: “We’ve got to get our country straightened out or we won’t have one,” he said. “You have a chance in two days—if you don’t vote, you’re stupid.”