Beaming conservative's false claims repeatedly smacked down on CNN: 'Just patently false!'

A conservative commentator met repeated pushback on "CNN This Morning" for justifying President Donald Trump's attempts to take over this year's midterm elections.

The 79-year-old president signed his second election-related executive order in this term directing the Department of Homeland Security to create federal lists of citizens and ordering the U.S. Postal Service to transmit mail ballots to only those voters, and conservative activist Terry Schilling insisted Trump was addressing a real issue and not simply trying to tip the scales in Republicans' favor.

"Look, to say that we'reterrified of losing in themidterms is ridiculous," said Schilling, president of the anti-trans American Principles Project. "It is the trend, is the vast majorityof the midterm elections afterevery single Republicanpresident or Democrat presidentwins, there's a huge pushbackin the election. So to act likewe're wetting the bed over thisis just preposterous. But I willsay that for the people that areconcerned about all of thechanges that President Trump ismaking to our election system,we should rewind a few years. Imean, in 2020 was the firstelection where not just millionsof ballots, but tens of millionsof ballots were cast through themail. This has never been done in American history. Jimmy Carter, for example, wrote anentire brief and report onelection integrity where headmonished nations that did mail-in balloting. It's superunsecure, so I think we needsome –"

"Donald Trump just voted by mail in thespecial election," interrupted former Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.

"No, no, listen," Schilling replied.

"But there's also not any evidence ofwidespread fraud and certainlynot in the U.S., widespread fraud," added host Erica Hill.

Schilling shifted the terms of the debate.

"But the argument is not thatthere is not widespread fraud," Schilling argued. "The argument being made againstthis executive order is thathe's making all of thesechanges to federal elections.I'm sorry, but in California,they allow illegal immigrants toregister to vote. They're onlyallowed to vote in stateelections, apparently. [Editor's note: California law allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections but not in state or federal elections.] But weknow that these laws arefungible. You know, we're upagainst an entire party thatreally doesn't even believe in American citizenship."

Singh heard enough.

"I am sorry, I have toabsolutely object to that," she said.

"Please do, I love that," Schilling interjected, beaming into her face.

"Theparty that is on the other sideof that – I mean, that that isjust patently false," Singh said. "We are notagainst citizenship, and what we want and what Democrats have been fighting foris just access to to voting andvoting by mail is something thatI do, something that thepresident does, that isinherently safe, that is secure,and something that can be donewith ease."

"It is not secure," Schilling insisted. "We need rules."

"There's no evidence that it's not secure," Hill added, "that it has been widely insecure in the United States."

Schilling argued that the Department of Justice had seized absentee ballots in Georgia that showed signatures that didn't match ones on voter registrations, and legal expert Shan Wu challenged his assertion.

"Just because they got them,it means they're fraudulent?" Wu said.

"No, it means that their theirsignatures don't match," Schilling replied, and Wu chuckled. "Look,the reality is the Americanpeople need to have assurancesthat their elections are safeand secure."

"They do," Singh exclaimed. "They have in every single election that's happened."

Schilling shifted the terms of debate once again.

"Sabrina, Sabrina, let me just say," he said, beaming into her face again. "Let me say half of the country, half of the countrydisagrees."

"That's actually not true," Singh corrected.

"Yes, half of the country has very big concerns," Schilling insisted. "They're called Republicans, about how our elections are handled."

A recent poll found 57 percent of Republicans say voter fraud is the biggest threat to elections, and Singh told Schilling she's talked to many Republicans who don't have concerns about the issue Trump's order is purported to address.

"But you haven't talked to me or my friends," Schilling said.