MILWAUKEE — Lara Trump, former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law and co-chair of the Republican National Committee, told Pennsylvania delegates in Milwaukee Tuesday that they are engaged in a spiritual battle this election season — a message framed by the haunting moment gunfire rang out at a Butler rally last Saturday and by the Trump campaign’s insistence that the 2020 election was rigged.
“We may have been looking at a very different situation but for the grace of God,” Ms. Trump told Keystone State delegates to the Republican National Convention during their breakfast Tuesday, her first visit to a state delegation. “We know after last Saturday that we have the one who truly matters on our side. This is not even about Republican versus Democrat or left versus right anymore. This is about good versus evil. We’re in a spiritual battle in this country, and we can feel it.”
Like Ms. Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Pennsylvania delegates Tuesday that Trump was blessed to not be assassinated and “ordained” to be president in the midst of a battle with the progressive left. That messaging after Saturday’s shooting is part of a theme throughout the convention here which combines faith — Ms. Trump thanked supporters for praying for the former president — with the intensifying fight over key battlegrounds like Pennsylvania.
In practical terms for Ms. Trump, that battle translates into “[protecting] the ballot,” she said.
Ms. Trump became co-chair of the RNC in March after prodding from her father-in-law, which she captured in a solid Trump impression: “Honey, you’re the perfect person, it’s gotta be you, but no pressure, but everybody wants it.”
Just a few months later, she said there “is no daylight” anymore between her organization and the Trump campaign.
While stopping short of saying President Joe Biden’s win was fraudulent, she emphasized that the RNC is hard at work ensuring “every legal vote counts.”
“We can never repeat 2020 and that election again,” she said, noting the RNC has set up “election integrity centers” across the country, including in Pennsylvania, and helped train at least 65,000 volunteers to work as poll observers on the ground on Nov. 5. “If they see anything nefarious, we can't wait a day or a week to address issues, we have to address them in the moment.”
“We’re winning Pennsylvania big this time,” she said.
Mr. Biden won Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes in 2020. Trump has consistently led in Pennsylvania polls, and saw a slight rise in his support after Mr. Biden’s poor debate performance on June 27.
Ms. Trump added that the party “can’t play the game the same way.” She told the delegation that Republicans should vote early when possible, whether in person or by mail. The party has made a concerted effort to encourage voting through mail-in and absentee ballots — a significant reversal from 2020 when Trump repeatedly claimed without evidence that such ballots lead to widespread fraud.
Ms. Trump also echoed Trump’s accusations that Democrats are “cheaters.”
“If you are a person who is going to cheat in an election or if you are a noncitizen … we will find you, we will track you down, and we will prosecute you to the full extent of the law,” she said to boisterous applause.
She also encouraged voters to “not take it for granted” when they look at polls showing Trump in the lead across the country.
In 2020, local, state and federal officials across the country — including many Trump-appointed judges and his own attorney general — said there was no evidence of widespread fraud or irregularities in the election. The Department of Homeland Security called it the most secure election in U.S. history.
Bipartisan groups and nonprofits focused on elections and voting rights earlier this summer have been engaged in efforts to pre-empt another wave of unproven allegations of voter fraud and to ensure that voters are aware of their rights.
In early July, a bipartisan group that includes former Gov. Ed Rendell on its board formed to help combat allegations that Pennsylvania’s elections are rigged or rife with fraud. And Informing Democracy and the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University recently published reports highlighting security and transparency in the state’s election processes — from what poll watchers can and cannot do to details on local election officials’ duties and the penalties they face for violating them.
Benjamin Kail: bkail@post-gazette.com; @BenKail
First Published: July 16, 2024, 4:14 p.m.
Updated: July 16, 2024, 11:24 p.m.