Topline
A governor whose name has been floated as a potential vice presidential pick for Republican candidate Donald Trump claimed Sunday Democrats were buying votes in the 2024 election “at a scale like we have never seen before” after Trump accused his opposition party of using welfare to influence voters and cheat in elections.
Key Facts
Doug Burgum, the Republican governor of North Dakota, on Sunday told CNN’s Jake Tapper that “it’s clear there is vote buying going on at a scale we’ve never seen before,” accusing the Biden administration of pursuing certain programs in exchange for Democratic votes.
The comments came in response to a question about claims Trump made at a donor retreat in Florida on Saturday, including that some Americans “get welfare to vote,” implying Democrats use governmental assistance programs to gain an advantage in elections.
Burgum added that President Joe Biden’s repeated push to forgive student loan debt for millions is a way of buying votes: “Citizens understand those are like free election payoffs. Those are like ‘Hey, folks, please vote for us because we’re relieving your debt. At what point does it cross over from programs like student debt (forgiveness) to just vote-buying.”
Tapper asked if using such programs to “buy votes” was any different than Trump promising lower taxes in exchange for the support of conservative billionaires—Burgum skirted the question and replied by accusing the anchor of “disparaging” Trump’s wealthiest donors.
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Crucial Quote
“When you are Democrat, you start off essentially at 40 percent because you have civil service, you have the unions and you have welfare,” Trump said Saturday, according to The New York Times. “And don’t underestimate welfare. They get welfare to vote, and then they cheat on top of that — they cheat.”
Key Background
Trump this weekend hosted hundreds of donors at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, for an invitation-only retreat. Among the attendees were several people who’ve been floated as being on the former president’s vice presidential shortlist, including Burgum; Sen. J. D. Vance,R-Ohio; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.. Other names that have been mentioned include South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Trump’s former top GOP primary opponent—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The event included a 90-minute speech in which Trump discussed the indictments against him, conspiracy theories around the 2020 presidential election and called Jack Smith, the Justice Department special counsel who has indicted him twice, “one unattractive dude.”
Surprising Fact
Trump has also received attention for accusing Biden of “running a Gestapo administration,” equating investigations resulting in dozens of criminal charges he’s facing to the workings of the notoriously brutal secret police force that terrorized Nazi-controlled Europe in the 1930s and 40s.
Big Number
6. That’s exactly how many months are remaining before Election Day 2024, which is all but certain to be a rematch between Biden and Trump.
