When Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to become the new President of the United States, he was unable to win the popular vote in the process. Despite being sworn into office last week, Trump is still pushing the debunked conspiracy theory that voter fraud was to blame for his popular vote loss.
Pence busted
While getting together with a group of congressional leaders in the White House earlier this week, Donald Trump informed them that as many as five million illegal immigrants had cast their vote against him on Election Day. Though Trump continues to stick by his claim, fact-checkers and respected news outlets have all pushed back, debunking Trump's allegations on more than one occasion.
Even fellow Republicans, like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. Lindsey Graham, have gone on the record to dispute the new president's false theory. As reported by The Guardian, and later The Hill, on January 26, a leaked audio tape gives more information into the administration's plans.
Mike Pence: Trump administration planning 'full evaluation' of voter fraud https://t.co/RebAX6AH9d
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) January 27, 2017
The leaked audio clip was taken from a private conversation between Vice President Mike Pence and Republican Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks. During the one-one-one, Pence informed Brooks that Donald Trump was "spot on" with his claim that between three and five million illegal votes were cast against him during the election.
Going further, Pence vowed that Trump will soon "initiate a full evaluation of voting rolls in the country and the overall integrity of our voting system in the wake of this past election."
Pence in leaked audio: We'll conduct a full evaluation of all voting rolls in the country https://t.co/iJu7YtxlaN pic.twitter.com/A9OqFliMzo
— The Hill (@thehill) January 27, 2017
Donald Trump's central argument stems from a report done by the Pew Research Center, which has since been disputed, even by the original author.
During the aforementioned leaked audio, Mike Pence stated that the administration will be "looking at ways to work with you and follow the facts and see where the facts go." Pence's comments elaborate on the executive order signed earlier this week, where Trump was looking to take action against the allegations of voter fraud.
Moving forward
Despite no credible evidence to backup his conspiracy theory, Donald Trump is still pushing that voter fraud was wide spread over the last year. While the mainstream media pushes back on a daily basis, Trump supporters continue to roll their eyes at traditional news, and take the president at his word.
