Tape reveals Donald Trump pressured Michigan officials not to certify 2020 vote, a new report says
Donald Trump pressured two election officials not to certify 2020 vote totals in a key Michigan county, according to a recording of a post-election phone call revealed in a new report from The Detroit News.
The former president's 2024 campaign neither confirmed nor denied the legitimacy of the recording, insisting in a statement that all of Trump's actions following his defeat by Democrat Joe Biden were intended to uphold his oath of office and ensure fair elections.
Trump has consistently repeated falsehoods about the 2020 election as he runs for the White House again. In a litany of federal, state and third-party investigations into voter fraud, no evidence has emerged that could have changed the outcome of the election.
The Nov. 17, 2020, phone call included then-President Trump, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and Wayne County election officials Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, both Republicans, The Detroit News reported. Trump told the two candidates they would look “terrible” if they certified the results after initially opposing certification, the newspaper said.
According to the newspaper, the recordings were made by someone who was present at the conversation with Palmer and Hartmann.
The report comes as Trump seeks the 2024 Republican nomination while grappling with multiple criminal charges, including a federal case and a case in Georgia related to his efforts to overturn Biden's victory. Biden won Michigan, while Wayne County, which includes Detroit, delivered a wealth of Democratic votes. As such, it was one of the main issues Trump focused on in the weeks following Election Day in 2020.
“We have to fight for our country,” Trump said on the recordings, according to The News. “We cannot allow these people to take our country from us.”
National GOP Chairman McDaniel, a Michigan native, reportedly said during the phone call, “If you can go home tonight, don't sign it,” adding, “We'll get you lawyers.”
Trump reportedly reinforced this point by assuring local officials, “We will take care of that.”
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump, said in a statement Friday that Trump's actions “were taken in furtherance of his duty as President of the United States to faithfully comply with the laws and ensure election integrity.”
“President Trump and the American people have the constitutional right to free and fair elections,” Cheung said.