Trump is reportedly 'taken aback' that his rants against mail-in ballots may have hurt him

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

President Trump made it clear in the weeks before the election that he wanted his supporters to vote for him in person, and he does not seem to grasp that this anti-mail-in ballot strategy may have hurt his re-election efforts, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, more people across the country requested absentee ballots, and some states automatically mailed ballots to every registered voter. Trump claimed, without any evidence and before the election even took place, that this would lead to widespread voter fraud, and encouraged people to wait in line on Election Day to cast their ballots.

Subscribe to 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.

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

Sign up
Explore More
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.