Much of the media has been up in arms over Trump’s claim that elections are rigged, but the question is what does he really mean when he claims that the election is rigged? Hillary Clinton had once said that George W. Bush was selected not elected, referring to the victory over Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election involving a miscount in ballots in Florida where Al Gore could have contested the election.

This could be taken that Hillary may have insinuated that the election, at least the 2000 election, was rigged in some kind of way. But is Trump’s idea about a rigged election the same as what happened in the 2000 election or is this a false equivocation?

One claim that Trump has made about rigged elections is that dead people tend to vote democratic. USA today reported that Trump claimed “people that have died 10 years ago are still voting,” citing a report that found 1.8 million deceased people remain on voter registration rolls. But the report did not find evidence of wrongdoing.

However, one of Trump’s biggest supporters, Rudy Giuliani also corroborated this claim with an interview that he gave on CNN with Jack Tapper.


Giuliani ends the interview by confessing that voter fraud based on “dead voters voting Democrat” wouldn’t really make a difference in most places, except for a few key places where there is a one to two point race.

Another form of alleged election fraud comes in the form of “illegal immigrants [who] are voting,” USA Today reported. Trump claimed this was a serious issue citing research by Old Dominion professors who say in 2008 Democrats may have benefited from illegal voters. But a Harvard professor said the study’s conclusions were wrong.

However, This is not the extent of what Donald Trump means by voter fraud. In another case, as reported by CNN, Trump warns that the election is rigged by the global elite. But the question is then: Who is this global elite?

According to the Hill, Trump believes that the global elite consists of “powerful corporations, media elites and political dynasties.” Trump is quoted saying “I want you to imagine how much better our future can be if we declare independence from the elites who’ve led us to one financial and foreign policy disaster after another.” Trump is heavily implying that the average person has no real influence in our democracy.

The Guardian writes:

Nearly 90% of Trump supporters agreed with a Rand Corporation survey statement that “people like me don’t have any say about what the government does.” The irony here is that Trump voters are historically some of the most enfranchised, with some of his strongest support coming from white protestant men. A study done during the primaries also found that Trump backers make an average of $72,000 per year, compared with a $61,000 average among likely Clinton voters.

However, Trump’s supporters aren’t necessarily complaining about income inequality because many blue collar workers tend to make a pretty substantial living. Instead, it could be interpreted that they are complaining about a lack of blue collar representation in government that is seemingly run by Ivy Leaguers. Blue collar republican voters are more concerned about how out of touch the average billionaire politician is with issues concerning middle America than with maintaining status quo policies and behavior.

These incendiary charges that Trump has made about being controlled by an elite ruling class has struck a nerve with many people in the country.

The Guardian reported that an estimated 73% of Republican voters now think the election could be stolen. A voter was reported saying “I hope we can start a coup. She should be in prison or shot … We’re going to have a revolution and take them out of office if that’s what it takes. There’s going to be a lot of bloodshed.”

The Wall Street Journal interviewed Trump supporter Dan Bowman saying “If she gets into power, I will do everything in my power to take her out of power. If I have to be a patriot, I will,” he continued.

What this supporter meant by those comments is open for interpretation. But the ruling triumvirate, that Trump is warning his supporters about, could find themselves putting out the flames of this fire whether he wins or loses.