Donald Trump and his congressional allies are escalating attacks on California’s election system, demanding investigations into the state’s slow vote count and accusing Democrats of rigging the results of this week’s primaries.
The 79-year-old president aired the accusations in a Truth Social post on Thursday night blasting California’s election process as worse than that of a “Third World Country.”
“Watch California, everybody!” Trump wrote. “Our Election process is as bad, or worse, than any Third World Country. The biggest difference is, they count their Votes much faster.”
Trump accused election officials of delaying the vote count in an attempt to manipulate the outcome.
“They don’t wait seven days to tell you who won, rigging the Election during each and every one of them,” he said.
The post came as Republicans ramped up attacks on California’s election system following Tuesday’s primaries. The results of the primaries for state governor and Los Angeles mayor have still to be called, with less than two-thirds of ballots counted by Thursday night.
Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri took to Fox News to call for a congressional investigation.
“Their election regime now is destroying trust in our election system,” Schmitt said to host Laura Ingraham.
“I chair the subcommittee on the Constitution in the Judiciary Committee, and we’re going to look into this.”
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer joined the criticism, comparing California’s vote-counting process to elections in his home state of Kentucky, which has about one-eighth of California’s population.
“California is the technology capital of the world, and it takes weeks to count ballots,” Comer said.
“We’re finished in two hours.”
The comments build on Trump’s repeated attacks on California’s election system this week.
In overnight social media posts on Wednesday, the president claimed Democrats were trying to “STEAL” both the California governor’s race and the Los Angeles mayoral contest through mail-in ballots.
He also alleged that the vote count was under investigation by federal prosecutors in Los Angeles, claims rejected by California officials.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office also mocked Trump’s allegations, dismissing them as conspiracy theories.
“Trump is lying about California again — time to take the phone away from grandpa and put him to sleep," the Newsom office X account posted.
Trump’s attacks come as votes continue to be counted in both races.
As of Friday, Republican Steve Hilton maintained a narrow lead in the California governor’s primary with 27.2 percent, compared with 26 percent for former Biden administration official Xavier Becerra.
Under California’s top-two system, the pair would advance to November’s general election if the results hold.
In Los Angeles, incumbent Karen Bass led the mayoral contest with 35.1 percent of the vote, while reality TV star Spencer Pratt remained locked in a battle with City Councilmember Nithya Raman for second place.
Pratt is currently ahead by about 33,000 votes for the chance to face Bass in the runoff.
