Donald Trump is already stoking the flames of conspiracy toward Philadelphia, where the Republican presidential nominee is suggesting a “massive” election fraud scandal is taking place.
“A lot of talk about massive CHEATING in Philadelphia,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Tuesday evening. “Law Enforcement coming!!!”
Within minutes, Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein, a Republican, rejected Trump’s claim, writing that there was “absolutely no truth to this allegation.”
“It is yet another example of disinformation. Voting in Philadelphia has been safe and secure,” Bluestein posted on X (formerly Twitter.)
In a separate statement, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner turned Trump’s bold claims back on him, arguing that the only claims of “massive cheating” had been coming from the MAGA leader and his allies.
“There is no factual basis whatsoever within law enforcement to support this wild allegation,” Krasner continued. “We have invited complaints and allegations of improprieties all day. If Donald J. Trump has any facts to support his wild allegations, we want them now. Right now. We are not holding our breath.”
Krasner had made headlines Monday by warning anyone planning to intimidate voters that they would “F around and find out.”
While it was unclear what specific wrongdoing Trump was alleging within the City of Brotherly Love, other high-profile Republicans had spent much of Election Day elevating sourceless allegations that the key battleground state was facing election integrity issues.
Republican National Committee co-Chair Michael Whatley claimed that Philadelphia County was one of several in Pennsylvania where Republican poll watchers were being “turned away.”
“Early this morning we learned that Republican poll watchers in Philadelphia, York, Westmoreland, Allegheny, Lehigh, Cambria, Wyoming, and Lackawanna Counties were being turned away,” Whatley posted. “We deployed our roving attorneys, engaged with local officials, and can now report that all Republican poll watchers have been let into the building. We will keep fighting, keep winning, and keep sharing updates.”
In response, the other RNC co-Chair and Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump said that “stopping this issue dead in its tracks is EXACTLY why we designed this EI operation.”
“Let this serve as a warning to anyone out there today who wants to interfere in a free, fair and transparent election process, WE ARE WATCHING & ready to take action,” she added.
But Bluestein was quick to shoot down Whatley and Lara Trump’s allegations, too. “We have been in regular contact with the RNC. We have been responsive to every report of irregularities at the polls to ensure Philadelphians can vote safely and securely,” he wrote in a separate post.
The Philadelphia Police Department did not know what Trump was referring to and had not been made aware of any election-related issues that required their response, according to CNN’s Holmes Lybrand.
Pennsylvania’s voting results will begin rolling in after polls close at 8:00 p.m. EST, and vote counting may continue through Friday as state officials contend with tens of thousands of provisional ballots amid issues with Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballot procedures.
Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are projected to be neck and neck in Pennsylvania, with the Democratic presidential nominee just a smidge ahead of her Republican opponent at 47.9 percent to Trump’s 47.7 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight’s aggregated polling.
Last month, Trump jumped the gun on his own conspiracy, issuing a preemptive call to arms for what he described as “rampant Cheating and Skullduggery” by Democrats during the 2024 presidential race.
“CEASE & DESIST: I, together with many Attorneys and Legal Scholars, am watching the Sanctity of the 2024 Presidential Election very closely because I know, better than most, the rampant Cheating and Skullduggery that has taken place by the Democrats in the 2020 Presidential Election,” Trump wrote in a post that promised to punish his opponents “to the fullest extent of the law,” including “Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials.”
This story has been updated.
