House Republican runs into fact-check buzz saw on CNN defending Trump election claims

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) got a quick fact check during a CNN interview when he tried to avoid answering questions about former President Donald Trump's election conspiracy theories.

Donalds, a right-wing Republican and Donald Trump ally, attacked CNN anchor Boris Sanchez right off the bat when he asked about Trump's repeated lies about the 2020 presidential election, which are being used to justify a new Republican-backed bill requiring proof of citizenship as a precondition of being able to register to vote.

"I'm wondering what evidence you have that there were issues of actual widespread election fraud in 2020 that necessitated the kind of adjustments you're talking about," said Sanchez.

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Instead of answering the question, however, Donalds launched into a rant about the American Rescue Plan, which he blamed for the inflation spike that occurred after the global economy reopened in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Sanchez, however, again pushed Donalds to justify Trump's repeated claims of election fraud in 2020.

Donalds did not provide specific examples of fraud but did point to the fact that the state of Pennsylvania does not count mail-in ballots ahead of election day, which means it can take days for votes to be tabulated.

What Donalds didn't mention, however, is the fact that Democrats in the state have tried to pass a law allowing mail-in ballots to be counted before the time polls close on election day, only to have been blocked by Republican state legislators.

Sanchez again pointed out that Donalds mentioned no specific instance of fraud and he pointed out that a Trump-appointed judge in Pennsylvania scolded Trump's lawyers for bringing no concrete proof to back up their election fraud claims.

"Again, because there was no evidence of widespread fraud in 2020," he said.

See the video below or at the link here.

- YouTubeyoutu.be