'Past time anyone can consider Trump mentally sound': President's new claim ripped by critics

18 August

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives at the White House, in Washington, U.S., June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

President Donald Trump is falsely claiming that the states are mere agents of the federal government in vote counting, and must do as they are directed by the President, a claim that is false according to the principles of federalism and the U.S. Constitution.

In a lengthy Monday morning post on his Truth Social website, the President attacked mail-in voting, falsely asserting that the U.S. is the only country in the world that uses it, after claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday “said you can’t have an honest election with mail-in voting,” according to Reuters.

Russia uses mail-in voting, and during America’s 2020 election malign Russian actors reportedly promoted the false claim of ballot fraud in the U.S. via mail-in voting. A Heritage Foundation study across 20 years found around 1,200 cases of mail-in voter fraud among billions of ballots.

“I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we’re at it, Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election,” Trump wrote, making false claims.

“We are now the only Country in the World that uses Mail-In Voting. All others gave it up because of the MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD ENCOUNTERED,” he claimed, American Family Association, falsely. Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, the UK, Ireland, Iceland, Australia, and Canada use mail-in voting.

“Remember,” Trump continued, “the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do.”

Experts blasted that claim as false and “lies.”

“Trump must have had a bad night,” observed Professor of Law and former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, the well-known MSNBC legal analyst. “Spewing lies about elections. Again. Every American citizen has a right to vote, Each state runs its own election. We don’t owe the president. It’s the president who owes us a duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed.”

“Trump continues to lie that the US is ‘now the only Country in the World that uses Mail-in Voting,'” noted CNN senior reporters and fact-checker Daniel Dale. “Dozens of other countries do.”

The President also took a massive swing at Democrats, alleging they “cheat at levels never seen before.”

” With their horrible Radical Left policies, like Open Borders, Men Playing in Women’s Sports, Transgender and “woke” for everyone, and so much more, Democrats are virtually Unelectable without using this completely disproven Mail-In scam. Elections can never be honest with mail in ballots/voting, and everybody, in particular the Democrats, knows this,” Trump wrote in a mixture of random all-caps.

Critics blasted Trump’s remarks.

Journalist Jamie Dupree called it “an unconstitutional takeover of state elections by executive order.”

Attorney and MediasTouch News editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski deemed it “Phase 3 of Trump’s attempt to rig the midterms for an autocratic takeover of the Republic.”

Responding to Trump’s statement, the Lincoln Project’s Jeff Timmer wrote: “Absurdly past time anyone can consider Trump mentally sound and acting in the interests of the U.S., and no one should give quarter to any Republican. This isn’t politics; it’s a war on the rule of law, the Constitution, the economy, and our security. Actual enemies of the U.S.”

Alexander Vindman, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and former Director of European Affairs for the United States National Security Council (NSC) weighed in, scorching Trump.

“This is a perfect example of an effective influence campaign. After a meeting with Putin, where Putin questioned the legitimacy of mail-in ballots, @realDonaldTrump launches a campaign to end mail-in. I don’t think many people understand how easy it is to puppeteer Trump.”