President Donald Trump’s false claim that millions of people voted illegally in the election even has former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) ― a steadfast Trump supporter ― scratching his head.
Trump told leaders on Capitol Hill on Monday that he only lost the popular vote because 3 million to 5 million “illegals” voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton. It’s a claim that he’s repeatedly made since November, but there’s no evidence to support it.
In a Tuesday interview with Fox Business Network, Huckabee said he didn’t know why Trump kept bringing it up.
“I have no evidence whatsoever, and I don’t know that anyone does, that there are that many illegal people who voted. And frankly it doesn’t matter. He’s the president and whether 20 million people voted, it doesn’t matter anymore,” Huckabee said. “I’m not sure why he brought it up.”
“But the thing I do know is when people keep arguing this thing about the popular vote, they’re missing the point,” he continued. “The founders created a system, the electoral college, and the people who are whining about it, they have a way to change it if they want to, they can change the Constitution.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) also cast doubt on Trump’s claim Tuesday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that Trump’s insistence that millions of people voted illegally undermined faith in American democracy.
Reince Priebus, Trump’s chief of staff, said on Sunday that there is a concerted effort to try and delegitimize Trump’s presidency. Trump himself grew in politics by questioning whether Barack Obama was really born in the United States and therefore a legitimate president.
Election officials across the country have found no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Despite that, Republican officials have pushed voter ID laws that disproportionately make it more difficult for low-income and minority Americans to vote.
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