Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Donald Trump 'has evidence millions voting illegally' - despite there being no proof

Despite Mr Trump's claims, there is no evidence that millions voted illegally

Andrew Buncombe
New York
Tuesday 24 January 2017 15:35 EST
Comments
Mr Spicer said Donald Trump stood by his claim, for which there is no evidence
Mr Spicer said Donald Trump stood by his claim, for which there is no evidence (AP)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

President Donald Trump still believes millions of votes were cast illegally in last year’s election, White House press secretary Sean Spicer has said.

In the days and weeks since his election, Mr Trump has suggested that anywhere up to five million ballots were cast illegally. He has blamed these alleged illegal voters for Hillary Clinton beating him in the popular vote.

There is no evidence to support Mr Trump’s claims, which he tweeted last November, saying: “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”

Thousands of women took to the streets on Saturday in Washington to march in protest of Donald Trump's inauguration
Thousands of women took to the streets on Saturday in Washington to march in protest of Donald Trump's inauguration (EPA)

On Monday night, Mr Trump reportedly returned to the issue, telling Congressional leaders that not only had up to five million people voted illegally, but that the size of the crowd who attended his inauguration last week, was bigger than that who turned out for Barack Obama in 2009. Both claims have been widely disproved.

“He didn’t change his point of view on the crowd size,” Democratic Minority Whip Congressman Steny Hoyer told CNN. “It was from his perspective a very large crowd…it was clear this was still on his mind.”

Trump signs executive orders to advance oil pipelines

Mr Spicer on Tuesday told reporters that Mr Trump still believed millions of votes were cast illegally. He was unable, however, to provide any evidence to support the claim.

“The President does believe that, I think he’s stated that before, and stated his concern of voter fraud and people voting illegally during the campaign and continues to maintain that belief based on studies and evidence people have brought to him,” he said.

When he was pressed as to what evidence existed, Mr Spicer said that Mr Trump “has believed that for a while based on studies and information he has”. He said that Mr Trump was very pleased with the amount of support he had, which saw him win 33 of the 50 states in the electoral college.

Mr Trump surprised many top Republicans and Democrats in Congress on Monday when, during a dinner at the White House, he repeated his claim that millions of undocumented immigrants voted for Ms Clinton.

“I wasn’t there, but if the President of the United States is claiming that 3.5m people voted illegally, that shakes confidence in our democracy - he needs to disclose why he believes that,” said South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham.

While Mr Trump won the electoral college, 304-227, Ms Clinton beat him in the popular vote by almost three million.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in