In a widely noted statement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, U.S. President Donald Trump returned to his claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. He asserted that prosecutions of responsible individuals are now approaching—without specifying whom or on what grounds.

When Trump addressed the crowd at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he said that “everyone now knows” the 2020 election was manipulated and that “people will soon be prosecuted for what they did.” However, the president did not elaborate on which individuals he was referring to or what alleged crimes might be involved.

The U.S. Department of Justice has not given any immediate comment on the statement.

Claims That Have Been Rejected

Trump has repeatedly claimed that Joe Biden did not win the 2020 election legitimately. These claims have, however, been dismissed by both federal courts and election officials.

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Even Trump’s own attorney general during his first term, William Barr, stated in 2022 that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

Continues to Shape Trump’s Agenda

Since returning to the White House, Trump has devoted significant energy to questioning the results of the 2020 election. The Justice Department has, among other things, brought a case against Fulton County in Georgia to gain access to ballots and other election materials from the election, and has sued a large number of—mainly Democratic-controlled—states to gain access to their voter rolls.

Trump has also attempted to strengthen federal authority over election processes to prevent future election fraud, but several of these attempts, including through executive orders, have been halted or limited by the courts.

Links Ukraine War to the Election

In Davos, Trump went further, linking some of the responsibility for the war in Ukraine to the 2020 election outcome. He argued the conflict would never have broken out if the election had not been “rigged.”

– We are thousands of miles away, separated by a vast ocean. This is a war that never should have started, and it would not have started if the 2020 U.S. presidential election had not been rigged, he said.

Background

The background to Trump’s repeated claims is that after his 2020 election loss, he tried to have the result overturned through courts and political pressure, but was unsuccessful. Over 60 lawsuits were dismissed or withdrawn, often citing lack of evidence.

Nevertheless, the issue remains central in Trump’s political rhetoric and has been key in mobilizing voters.

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