With the U.S. midterm elections just a week away, President Donald Trump announced that he will offer a $1 million reward to anyone who reports voter fraud that leads to a conviction.
Meeting with reporters on October 26, President Trump reaffirmed his stance that non-U.S. citizens who vote will be deported, stating, "We will pay $1 million to anyone who reports election fraud that leads to someone being arrested and convicted."
Campaigning continuously to secure a Republican victory in the midterms, President Trump emphasized, "We must win by a landslide," adding, "We have to win by margins so large that they cannot be rigged."
However, public sentiment ahead of the midterms is turning unfavorable for President Trump. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on October 26, President Trump's approval rating for his handling of state affairs stood at 32%, with disapproval at 66%. In response to a question asking which party they would vote for in the congressional elections, the Democratic Party led with 47% compared to the Republican Party's 36%.
When asked how he would respond if Republicans lose the midterm elections, President Trump stated that he would "veto every single bill." He argued that repeated vetoes would force Democrats to come to the negotiating table, enabling him to reach agreements.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also taking legal action, raising concerns over the fairness of the midterm elections.
On October 22, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in federal court regarding the Alaska Senate election, asking to block the certification of results if voter confusion affected the outcome.
The administration argued that voters could become confused because candidate Daniel Sullivan shares a similar name with incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. President Trump called this "clear fraud," and when asked why he considers it illegal, he replied, "I think it's illegal because it's unfair."
In response, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, criticized the Trump administration for stoking distrust in anticipation of an election defeat. Bonta pointed out that "they are preparing excuses in advance for after they lose the election," adding that it runs counter to democracy and American values.
On the other hand, the Trump administration maintains that actual cases of illegal voting have been confirmed. Neil Floyd, acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, claimed that more than 400 non-citizens voted and that they cast over 1,500 illegal ballots. However, these figures and the existence of actual illegal voting require further verification.
President Trump's raising of election fraud suspicions has extended beyond the United States to the presidential election in Brazil.
In the runoff of the Brazilian presidential election held on October 25, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has been at odds with President Trump, defeated right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro to secure reelection.
However, candidate Bolsonaro expressed his intention to contest the election results, taking issue with the fact that voting hours were extended by two hours. Bolsonaro claimed that a Supreme Court justice who previously served as Lula's lawyer extended voting hours until 7:00 PM, and demanded that what happened during this process be brought to light.
Reactions among the Brazilian public were also divided. While Lula supporters criticized the Bolsonaro family and argued that democracy must be defended, Bolsonaro supporters raised suspicions, calling the extension of voting hours abnormal.
However, it was confirmed that the extension of voting hours had been requested by both campaign camps due to transportation issues and severe weather at the time. Furthermore, Bolsonaro backed down from his initial stance of filing to invalidate the election, shifting his legal response strategy to focus on questioning alleged abuse of power by the Lula side.
Amid these circumstances, when asked about the Brazilian presidential election, President Trump joined in casting doubt, remarking that it "looked like another rigged election."
President Trump said, "I didn't take sides, but it looked terrible to the rest of the world." He added, "Election results should be clear, and the way the vote counting was conducted looked very bad."
At the same time, when asked if he intended to intervene in the Brazilian election, he drew a line, stating, "I am not the person running Brazil; I am the person leading America."
President Trump also reiterated claims that the 2020 U.S. presidential election—in which he was defeated—was rigged, asserting that the war in Ukraine would not have happened if the outcome of that election had been different.
As debates surrounding election fairness intensify ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, attention is focused on what repercussions President Trump's repeated allegations of voter fraud will bring after the vote.
(Reported by JIN Sang-myeong | Video by Hong Jin-young | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.