'He’s completely unhinged': Why Trump’s bizarre Indiana obsession is a 'distortion of state law'

07 February 2024

Indiana isn't a state that 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump will need to worry about if, as expected, he is the nominee. The former president carried Indiana by 17 percent in 2020 and 19 percent in 2016.

But in a report published on February 6, Politico's Adam Wren explains why Trump has been "fixated, of all places, on Indiana." Trump, according to Wren, is "accusing" Indiana officials of "conspiring against him to help his rival Nikki Haley in a Republican presidential primary that won't take place until May."

"For days," the Politico reporter explains, "Trump has been suggesting that Haley failed to qualify for the Indiana primary ballot, saying she was 'scrambling in Indiana with democrat county clerk offices to verify signatures' after the fact, or even that she had 'forgot to apply.' He has gone so far as to have his campaign's attorney threaten litigation to challenge Haley's ballot status."

Wren adds, "But Trump's allegation is based on a distortion of Indiana law. While signatures to get ballot access were due by January 30, the filing deadline isn't until this Friday, meaning that Haley is still on track to qualify for the state's ballot."

Conservative GOP attorney Joshua Claybourn, who is based in Evansville, Indiana, expressed his frustration with Trump's actions.

Claybourn told Politico, "Trump is reinforcing a narrative where the only acceptable outcome is his victory, thus preemptively delegitimizing any electoral defeat. It sets the stage for yet another crisis of legitimacy in the November general election."

Cindy Mowery, a Republican on the Marion County Board of Voters Registration in Indiana, told Politico, "I think somebody gave him incorrect information based on lack of knowledge, and he went with what he was told."

Mike Murphy, a Republican who formerly served in the Indiana House of Representatives, was downright scathing in his comments on Trump's Indiana fixation.

Murphy told Politico, "Why put out the effort to challenge the Haley effort ahead of time when Trump knows he's going to win Indiana no matter what? The bottom line is he's completely unhinged. He is literally off his rocker."

Democratic strategist David Axelrod argues that Trump's Indiana obsession is typical behavior for him.

The former Barack Obama adviser told Politico, "Making assertions that have no basis in fact even if they undermine your public faith in our institutions, including our elections, is of no consequence to him. So this is just one little signpost along the way."

Read Politico's full report at this link.

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