Repeats 'rigged and stolen' election claims at North Carolina rally

Speaking in Selma, North Carolina to support Senate candidate Ted Budd, Trump made explicit false claims about the 2020 election. He declared: "The simple fact is the presidential election was rigged and stolen" and claimed "ballot harvesting at a level that nobody ever thought possible. Totally illegal, by the way." Trump alleged that "100% of the votes to Biden and nothing to Trump" came from certain drop boxes and referenced conspiracy theory documentaries as evidence: "They have it on tape and they have it on ping. They have it all over the place." He told supporters: "we need a landslide so big that the radical left cannot rig it or steal it." These claims had been repeatedly debunked by election officials, courts, and audits across all contested states. Trump used the rally to endorse Budd, calling him "an unrelenting champion for your North Carolina values and for America first."

"The simple fact is the presidential election was rigged and stolen." — Rally in Selma, North Carolina, April 9, 2022