President Donald Trump held a tele-rally Friday night with supporters in North Carolina as the state begins mailing out ballots for the November election.
Trump urged voters to “make sure [their] vote counts” by signing and mailing their ballots “as early as possible.” He suggested voters go to their local polling place on Nov. 3 to see whether or not their mail in ballot had been counted. He said doing this will be a test to determine whether the state’s mail in ballot system is working properly. (RELATED: Mail Voting Begins As North Carolina Sends Out Absentee Ballots)
“I’ve been very suspicious of this whole situation, I don’t like it, and a lot of people don’t like it,” he said.
His comments come days after he encouraged voters in North Carolina voters to vote twice to ensure their ballots were counted, according to NBC.
“So let them send it in and let them go vote, and if their system’s as good as they say it is, then obviously they won’t be able to vote. If it isn’t tabulated, they’ll be able to vote,” Trump said Wednesday.
He doubled down on his position Thursday, tweeting a similar message.
Based on the massive number of Unsolicited & Solicited Ballots that will be sent to potential Voters for the upcoming 2020 Election, & in order for you to MAKE SURE YOUR VOTE COUNTS & IS COUNTED, SIGN & MAIL IN your Ballot as EARLY as possible. On Election Day, or Early Voting,..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2020
It appears his comments were an effort to encourage people to make sure their votes were counted, not to elicit double voting, which is illegal.
The President took a swipe at his opponent, Democratic nominee Joe Biden, saying Biden “wants to surrender…your nation to the radical left wing mob.”
Trump said Biden is a “puppet” of “Socialist, Marxist, cop-hating extremists,” promising North Carolinians he would “bring rioters, looters and extremists to justice” unlike his opponent.
“Biden spent months calling violent mobs peaceful protests,” the President said.
Biden called Portland and Washington D.C. protesters “peaceful” and criticized the President for sending in the Department of Homeland Security, according to USA Today.
However, Biden has also called out violence, condemning Saturday’s riot in Portland in which one man was fatally shot, according to Reuters.
Trump went on to say Democrats are the “American nightmare,” claiming Biden is “weak” and will bow down to the mob. He claimed Biden is beholden to ANTIFA, saying “this election is about safety,” telling voters “I’ll always defend law abiding citizens, Biden won’t…he doesn’t even know what defend means.”