Jim Bourg/Reuters
President Donald Trump on Thursday once again suggested that widespread voter fraud hurt him in the 2016 election. According to Politico, which cited participants in the president’s meeting with senators, Trump mentioned the unproven fraud claims immediately after reporters were asked to leave the room following a photo-op. Former New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who lost her re-election campaign in 2016, is working for the Trump administration on the confirmation of Supreme Court pick Neil Gorsuch, and was present at the meeting. Trump reportedly said Ayotte would have won but for the “thousands” of illegal voters “brought in on buses” from Massachusetts to vote against her and Trump—resulting, in his mind, in Hillary Clinton winning the state’s electoral votes and Ayotte losing her re-election bid to Democratic challenger Maggie Hassan. In addition to reiterating his false claims of widespread voter fraud, Trump called Sen. Elizabeth Warren—who was not present at the meeting—“Pocahontas,” his oft-used pejorative reference to her claim of Native American heritage.