Jason Miller, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump’s campaign, accused Democrats of trying to “change the rules” in post-election weeks ahead of the November presidential election.
“I think what’s really happening here is that they’re trying to … set up something that normally takes five to 10 years to place, and run through in almost five to 10 weeks,” he told ABC Anchor Chief George Stephanopoulos on ABC “This Week “in an interview followed sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Who beat the Republican effort to withhold funding for the Postal Service.
“I am deeply, deeply concerned about Trump’s attempt to undermine American democracy by defending the Postal Service,” Sanders told Stephanopoulos.
In response, Miller said: “I find it a little sinister for Bernie and the rest of the Democrats to make so much noise here. They did not try to do it in February or March or April or May, and this is something that is happening right now. comes up. “
But Stephanopoulos stepped back and recalled that House Democrats earlier in the spring handed over a $ 25 billion bill for emergency funds for the Postal Service. He also pointed out that it is not only Democrats who are worried.
On Friday, he said. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, “I know of no evidence that voting by post-voter fraud would increase.”
In response, Miller said “Mitt Romney is wrong.… Mitt Romney should take a look at Paterson, New Jersey, where up to a quarter of all votes were cast.”
Both Attorney General William Barr and Trump have pointed to reports of expected fraud in a special election in Paterson this past May, where several city officials have been dealing with fraud charges and the election administration rejected nearly 20% of submitted ballot papers.
Security experts have argued that Paterson’s election, in contrast, shows that fraud measures to protect against fraud actually work effectively given the suspected fraud was reported to state officials.
Miller also pointed to the tight-knit Democratic primary race in New York between Rep. Carolyn Maloney and challenger Suraj Patel, where absentee votes counted weeks. Maloney finally claimed victory earlier this month after the New York City Board of Elections certified the results, leading her by 3,700 votes.
“I think Carolyn Maloney is the winner of that. We’m not sure yet,” Miller said.
Stephanopoulos challenged him, saying, “But let me just stop here, because when the votes were cast, that shows the system is working. It shows that the votes may have been fraudulent.”
Miller replied, “But no, but continue after six weeks after that, and we’m still not sure – I mean, did Carolyn Maloney really win this race? I mean, her opponent doesn’t think so.”
Stephanopoulos also pressured Miller on Trump’s remarks this week and declined to state clearly as a presumptive Democratic vice presidential candidate. Kamala Harris is eligible to serve as president. Harris, the first woman of color on a major election card for major political parties, was born in California, to parents with immigrants. The false and racist theory – written in an op-ed by John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who ran against Harris for attorney general in California in 2010 – has been treated in some right-wing circles since Joe Biden announced her as his running mate .
Law experts have said these questions about Harris’ qualification are “100% false” and Harris, born in 1964 in Oakland, is a U.S. citizen who is eligible to serve as president and vice president.
Asked about the theory during a press conference Saturday, the president said, “That, I have nothing to do with it. I have read about it. … The lawyer is accidentally brilliant lawyer, as you probably know. He wrote an article too say there may be a problem. It’s not something I will pursue. ”
Stephanopoulos asked Miller on Sunday why the president could not unequivocally say Harris was eligible to run.
He replied, “Well, he did. He said at his press conference last night – said it’s not something the campaign is pursuing.”
Stephanopoulos shrugged, “But he did not say she would be eligible to run for president.”
“It’s not something we pursue, not something we’re interested in,” Miller repeated. “And in our opinion, the case is closed. End of story. And the only people who will stop it are the media.”
But Stephanopoulos noted that Trump campaign’s legal adviser Jenna Ellis retweeted the article, raising the question about Harris’ qualification.
“She did not speak for the campaign. That’s me,” Miller replied.
Stephanopoulos also pressured Miller on the state of the Trump campaign as national polls show Joe Biden leading Trump by about eight points.
“We’re actually in a better place than we were four years ago, so I like it,” Miller replied. “All trend lines look very positive, especially in the field battles. We are either leading or within the margin of error of any state we have to get to 270.”
Stephanopoulos shocked Miller at this point, noting that Trump Biden ran in several major states, such as Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
“What do you see that we do not see?” Challenge Stephanopoulos.
“The media pollsters have not corrected their models since 2016. And the same way they undercut Trump voters and missed them so much, nothing has fundamentally changed,” Miller replied. “So what we’re looking at are models that were correct in 2016. We believe it will be correct in 2020. We feel good about where we are.”
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