White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer insists President Trump 'believes' false claims about massive voter fraud

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 24 January 2017

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer doubled down on President Donald Trump's false assertion that millions of illegal immigrants voted in the 2016 U.S. election. "The claim, which [Trump] has made before on Twitter, has been judged untrue by numerous fact-checkers," The New York Times wrote of the statement, going as far as to label the accusation a "lie." Trump nevertheless repeated the claim Monday at a reception with congressional leaders.

Spicer was asked directly about voter fraud during his White House press briefing Tuesday, and replied "the president does believe that … based on studies and evidence people have presented to him." Spicer did not elaborate on what those studies are or what the evidence might be. Watch below. Jeva Lange

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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.