Trump spreads Newsmax-fueled conspiracy about Brad Raffensperger's nonexistent brother


President Trump is back with another far-fetched conspiracy theory about Georgia's election results.
As certified election results and multiple recounts proved, President-elect Joe Biden won the typically red state in the 2020 election. But that hasn't stopped Trump from launching lawsuits and lies aimed at invalidating the election results there, including early Wednesday morning, when he tweeted a provably false claim about the state's Republican secretary of state.
Brad Raffensperger, who runs the state's elections, has faced threats and wild conspiracy theories after refusing to listen to Trump and his allies' attempts to overturn the election results. A commentator on the far-right network Newsmax, Dick Morris, tried to draw up another one Tuesday night, this time claiming Raffensperger's brother worked for the Chinese technology company Huawei. Trump repeated the claim in a Wednesday tweet, implying the alleged relation compromised the secretary of state's election integrity.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
Someone named Ron Raffensperger does have a high-level spot at Huawei. But just like thousands of people who share last names in this country, he and the secretary of state aren't brothers.
Trump's continued conspiracy-mongering comes just days before Georgians return to the polls for a runoff election that will determine the balance of power in the Senate. The president and his supporters have tried to undermine confidence in Georgia's election system, with some even encouraging Republicans not to vote in what they're claiming is an insecure election. Kathryn Krawczyk
Update 11:45 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to clarify that Dick Morris made the claim while appearing as a commentator on Newsmax, and to remove an earlier report that Raffensperger has no brother.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Israel strikes Iran, killing military and nuclear chiefs
Speed Read Israeli officials said the attack was a 'preemptive' strike on Iran's nuclear program
-
Israel deports Thunberg after seizing Gaza aid boat
speed read The Swedish activist was delivering food and medical aid to Palestine, highlighting the growing humanitarian crisis there
-
Colombian senator shot on streets of Bogotá
speed read Miguel Uribe Turbay, who has announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election, was shot at a rally
-
Trump says Putin vowed retaliation for Kyiv strike
speed read The Russian president intends to respond to Ukraine's weekend drone strikes on Moscow's warplanes
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as president
speed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment
-
Nationalist wins tight Polish presidential election
speed read Karol Nawrocki beat Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland's presidential runoff election
-
Ukraine hits Russia's bomber fleet in stealth drone attack
speed read The operation, which destroyed dozens of warplanes, is the 'biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long-range bomber fleet'