Fact-checking Donald Trump’s claims about the 2020 election during his interview with Joe Rogan

In a three-hour interview with podcaster Joe Rogan – a conversation that lasted even longer than one of Donald Trump’s rally speeches – the former president repeated falsehoods about the 2020 election result.

The conversation took place less than two weeks before Election Day and included various statements regarding life on Mars to illegal immigration, to a plan to impose tariffs on everyday goods.

Here we check out what Trump said about the 2020 election.

“I won that second election” in 2020.

Pants on fire!

Joe Biden deserved to win by winning more Electoral College votes. Biden received 306 electoral votes compared to Trump’s 232. Biden’s path to victory included the battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Although the popular vote does not determine who wins the presidential election, Biden received about 7 million more votes nationwide than Trump.

The 2020 election result was verified in many ways: states certified the results. Trump and his allies lost over 60 proceedings. Congress accepted the results after Trump supporters violent riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. A group of conservatives, including former federal judges, investigated all fraud and miscalculation claims by Trump and his allies and he stated that they “failed to present evidence of fraud or inaccurate results significant enough to invalidate them.”

Republicans in the Trump administration, including his then-attorney general, Bill Barrtold Trump that his statements about the “stolen” election were “bull…” Republican state election officialsincluding in Georgia, concluded that the election was secure and that Biden had won.

PolitiFakt has documented several examples of voter fraud in 2020for example, people voting on behalf of deceased relatives. But these instances were not enough to change the outcome of the race.

States used “COVID to cheat” in the 2020 election.

Pants on fire!

Many states have made it easier to vote during the pandemic by mailing a registered voter a ballot or requesting a ballot. Some states that previously required voters to have an excuse to vote by mail have relaxed that rule.

Trump may not agree with these changes, but he is wrong – absurdly – ​​to characterize them as fraud. These changes were made openly, through executive orders, administrative action, or law. And when the state expanded access to mail-in voting, it was also available to GOP voters.

States “were supposed to get legislative approval to do what they did,” such as changing mail-in voting rules.

Rejecting Trump’s argument in lawsuits over the 2020 election results, various courts have ruled that states don’t have to turn over every election policy to the legislature; instead, government officials can act alone if necessary. .

For example, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton: sued four battleground states that voted for Bidenarguing that their election procedures violate their states’ laws. In one-page rulingThe U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the lawsuit, saying Texas had no business challenging how other states run their elections.

Experts say changing election rules without passing legislation is common.

“There are often gaps in election constitutions that state and local election officials routinely fill in accordance with their delegated authority,” said Rebecca Green, an election law professor at the College of William and Mary. “Thus, to say that all decisions about how elections are conducted must come from the Legislature is not consistent with an explicit delegation of authority to state election officials.”

The changes, made without formal legislative approval, were implemented not only in Democratic or battleground states but also by Republican officials in strongly pro-Trump states.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum issued an executive order order in March 2020, suspending the obligation to operate at least one personal polling station in each district for counties that agreed to postal voting.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson issued an executive order executive order allowing Covid-19 concerns as a valid excuse to vote by post in the November 2020 elections.

In Paxton State, Texas Governor Greg Abbott added additional days of early voting for the general election, citing challenges posed by the pandemic.

After Hurricane Michael hit North Florida in October 2018, then-Gov. Rick Scott cited emergency regulations in his article order waive some rules regarding absentee ballots and in-person voting.

“If you look at Wisconsin, it has virtually been admitted that the election was rigged, robbed and stolen.”

Pants on fire!

Trump demanded a recount in Wisconsin, but these recounts sustained Biden’s victory; After the recount was completed, Biden had a net 74 votes. The state confirmed Biden’s victory.

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin dismissed a lawsuit seeking to ban absentee ballot drop boxes, saying the issues were not “clearly presented.”

An investigation led by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman – who has aligned himself with Trump and promoted his false claims – found no evidence the elections were incorrectly called.

Conservative Wisconsin Law and Liberty Institute found no evidence common fraud. And state auditors found voting machines worked properly.

PolitiFact senior correspondent Amy Sherman contributed to this report.