Much to the chagrin of Democrats, President Donald Trump used his first White House meeting with Congressional leaders on Monday to make assertion that he would not have lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in the November election if only some three to five million “illegals” had not fraudulently participated in the voting.
Trump apparently opted to stir the pot all over again on this claim in the face of questions that critics continue to raise about the legitimacy of his election. He had made similar assertions back in November, but election officials rejected them, saying there was no evidence of people having voted illegally.
In a split electoral verdict, Trump secured the presidency by winning the Electoral College vote (304-227), while Clinton won the popular vote by bagging almost three million more votes than him. Under the US Constitution, it is the Electoral College that decides the winner.
Hosting a reception for Congressional leaders of both parties on Monday evening, Trump brought up the issue in a freewheeling discussion before seeking to build up bipartisan support for an ambitious legislative agenda that includes the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, a large infrastructure investment, making changes to immigration laws and overhauling the tax system.
While there was no immediate word from the White House on Trump’s renewed claims over the popular vote, Democratic sources told US media outlets that he did bring up the subject. On this very issue, back in November, Trump had tweeted: “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”
Congressional leaders to attend the meeting included House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Majority leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, all Republicans. The Democratic representatives included House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer. On another front, namely relations with the news media, the Trump administration appeared to be keen to move on by declaring a truce after two days of a public spat over the size of the audience for Trump’s inaugural on Friday.