Reporter asks Trump why he urged Republican voters to vote by mail if he thinks it’s fraud. The conversation led to a ‘fake news’ accusation

A reporter’s question on the South Lawn ended with President Donald Trump pointing at her and walking off. The clip, posted by independent journalist Aaron Rupart on X, shows Trump in a dark suit and bright blue tie, with the South Portico’s curved staircase and columns behind him. She asked why he was telling supporters to use mail ballots if he believes that method is fraudulent.

“Why are you telling your supporters to vote by mail if you think it’s fraud?” she asked from off camera. Trump rejected the framing and said voters have both options. “I’d rather have them vote in person, but they can vote by mail if they want because we seem to have no choice because a lot of people want to vote by mail, but a lot of very good people also want to vote in person. You can do either,” he said.

He then dropped the softer wording. “What we’re concerned about is there seems to be a lot of … not seems to be…there is a lot of cheating in vote by mail. A lot of cheating all over,” he said, and told reporters to look at California. She answered that there is “no evidence.” He pointed at her and said, “with millions and millions of ballots, you are fake news,” then turned away while other reporters kept shouting.

A Saturday turnout video sat next to months of attacks on mail ballots

Two days earlier, Trump had posted a Truth Social video telling people with early voting not to hold off. “Vote early, vote by mail, or vote in person on Election Day,” he said. The caption read, “Republicans must WIN the 2026 Midterm Elections, and we must use every appropriate tool – Whether you vote early, absentee, by mail, or in-person, we must ‘swamp’ the Radical Left Dumocrats with massive turnout! SO IMPORTANT – PLEASE GET OUT AND VOTE.”

The “swamp” line tracks a 2024 program of the same name. Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee used sign-ups for campaign updates to “generate new absentee or mail ballot registrations and early in-person voting commitments.” Announcing that drive, Trump said, “You need to make a plan, register, and vote any way possible.”

The pitch did not stay consistent. Days after that announcement, at a Turning Point Action conference, he called early voting “sad” and “crazy.” In the months before Saturday’s post, he described mail-in voting as “inherently corrupt” and as “cheating,” while backing a plan that would have put a new mail-ballot system under the effective control of the U.S. Postal Service.

In August, he wrote, “ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING.” He has continued to press the issue in court, such as when Trump asks Supreme Court to reinstate mail ballot restrictions before midterm voting begins.

Weeks later, the Supreme Court turned down his bid to restrict mail voting in the midterms. The proposal would have made states use one envelope design and file eligible-voter lists through an online portal. The Postal Service could then have refused to deliver mail ballots from any state that did not follow those rules.

Trump answered the loss on Truth Social: “The Supreme Court has really let our Country down!” He also wrote, “Certain Justices are petrified of these crazed and depraved Democrats, and are totally unable to show the courage necessary to save our America.” On Monday he told reporters he would “rather have them vote in person,” adding, “They can vote by mail if they want. We seem to have no choice.”

Pressed again on proof, he said there is “a lot of cheating in vote by mail” and told them to “take a look at California.” Separately, Trump requested his own mail ballot this summer so he could vote in Florida’s Republican primary.

Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer now with Democracy Defenders Action, wrote, “His ‘election security’ crusade was only ever about one voter: him.” States have already begun mailing ballots for Election Day on November 3. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission said about one-third of 2024 presidential ballots went by mail. In 2020 that share was above 40 percent.

An NBC News poll last month found fewer than one-quarter of Democratic voters planning to vote by mail, down from 34 percent in 2024. Quentin James, founder and president of The Collective Political Action Committee, told Politico that Black voters have worried mailed ballots would be thrown out. “I think there’s confusion,” he said. 

“We know that the president has spent six months talking about changing the rules regarding mail-in voting, and a lot of folks are concerned about their ballot being secure,” he added. 

The Justice Department has also filed a run of noncitizen-voting cases. David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, said, “After nearly two years in complete control of the federal government, this administration has been unable to produce evidence of election theft or widespread fraud.” He added that Americans should be “particularly skeptical of claims made by this administration now.”