President Donald Trump said Americans should cast their ballot using “every appropriate tool,” in a pre-recorded video imploring Republicans to vote in the midterm elections, including using methods that he has historically opposed like early and mail voting.
“If your state has early voting, do not wait. Go out and vote,” Trump said in the video posted Saturday morning to his Truth Social account. “Vote early, vote by mail, or vote in person on Election Day.”
Trump’s message is notable because he has criticized mail-in voting for years and pushed to limit it since the start of his second term, though many of those efforts have been blocked by courts.
It comes as Trump’s midterm strategy has relied heavily on turning out his base, and less so on persuading undecided voters to support GOP candidates.
“It’s all a turnout game,” a GOP campaign official told CNN last month. “From day one, the campaign committees and the president’s political operation have been sharing data to make sure we’re hammering the exact people we need to turn out.”
The Supreme Court rejected sweeping restrictions last month that would have changed how mail ballots are sent to voters in advance of the midterm elections. The decision came after state election officials warned that they did not have enough time to enact the provisions that stemmed from a March executive order the president issued.
Trump issued a lengthy reaction on social media responding to the decision, labeling the country’s mail-in voting system a “‘disaster,’ which is a laughing stock all over the World, and where we are the only country that has to endure such a Nation Destroying SCAM.”
The president has also aggressively pushed Congress to enact restrictions on mail-in voting through the “SAVE America Act,” a federal elections overhaul bill that has met bipartisan opposition in the Senate.
Despite falsely claiming that mail-in voting has resulted in extensive fraud, Trump has continued to vote by mail himself, including in a Florida state House special election in March.
It’s not the first time the president has contradicted his own comments about voting methods in the lead up to an election. In 2024, Trump’s campaign launched “Swamp The Vote USA” to promote absentee, mail-in and early voting. He referred to the program in his video message Saturday.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment on the video and whether it marks a shift in the president’s views on early and mail voting.
With one month before the midterms, over one million ballots have already been cast. In several states with key Senate or governor races this fall, Democrats make up a larger share of voters requesting ballots so far than they did at this point in 2024.
In several states with key Senate or governor races this fall, Democrats make up a larger share of voters requesting ballots so far than they did at this point in 2024.
In recent years, Democrats have been much more likely to vote prior to Election Day.
By CNN
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