Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie noted the irony of Republicans’ wild-eyed claims of voter fraud. Massie’s remarks come as divisions within the party rise over President Trump’s effort to secure congressional approval of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, which would add new voter ID requirements.
Senate Republicans say the bill lacks enough support to advance, but Trump is pressing them to pass it. And it’s not surprising they can’t muster up the votes, since, as I wrote here, it’s a sham over a problem that doesn’t exist. While the SAVE Act is being touted as a fix for non-citizen voting — it’s a problem that doesn’t exist. Federal voter registration already requires applicants to affirm citizenship under penalty of perjury, and study after study confirms that non-citizens voting in federal elections is vanishingly rare. What the SAVE Act would actually accomplish is throwing a wrench into nonprofit voter registration drives, burying election officials in paperwork, and making it harder for eligible Americans to vote.
Still, Trump keeps fucking that chicken.
“I’ll vote for the SAVE Act, but I think it’s a distraction from our real problems,” he told reporters outside the Capitol. “I mean, we won all the damn elections, and we’re in charge. And what are we doing with it? I think it’s ironic that we control the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the White House, and we’re yelling election fraud.”
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