Trump adviser accuses Scott Walker and Reince Preibus of rigging elections

Trump advisor Roger Stone makes accusation of election rigging.

(Image credit: Ben Jackson/Getty Images)

In an op-ed for The Hill, Donald Trump ally Roger Stone continued to promote the conspiracy of "rigged" elections — by pointing a finger at two major figures in the GOP, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus:

As someone with great sentimental attachment to the Republican Party, as I joined as the party of Goldwater, both parties have engaged in voting machine manipulation. Nowhere in the country has this been more true than Wisconsin, where there are strong indications that Scott Walker and the Reince Priebus machine rigged as many as five elections including the defeat of a Walker recall election [...]When the Trump vs. Cruz primary took place, the same pattern emerged again of a Marquette University poll showing a 20 point shift from Trump ahead by 10 percent to Trump behind by 10 percent, which was simply absurd. Shifts like that don’t happen over brief intervals of time, absent a nuclear explosion. It didn't make any sense — unless you knew what was going on was an "instant replay" of Walker's victories. The machine Priebus built was delivering for Cruz big time. [The Hill]

Stone also accused Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel of "monkey[ing] with the machines," and wrote that "this year, the results of machines in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio, where Governor John Kasich controls the machines, must be matched with the exit polls…"

Experts and election inspectors have said claims such as Stone's are "laughable and even irresponsible." "With no evidence at all, Trump is charging — in advance of the election — that if he loses, it might well be because the election is rigged. Puh-leaze," Larry Sabato at the University of Virginia told FactCheck.org.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.