WASHINGTON–President Donald Trump pushed for voter identification legislation on Monday while speaking at a House Republican retreat at the Trump-Kennedy Center.
The president began his remarks on the topic by citing hostility to voter ID in California.
“You ought to have voter ID. You ought to insist on it. You ought to insist on it,” he told House GOP members.
“In California, they not only don’t have voter ID but…if an official, a voting official, even asks somebody for voter ID… they put him in jail for tampering with the election,” he added. “We’ve got to straighten this out before it gets too crazy.”
Trump stated that Democrats are embarrassed when confronted on the topic, and the only reason one would be against voter ID laws is because of a desire to cheat in an election.
“When you confront a Democrat about voter ID, like in a debate or something, I said it a couple of times with Biden, they’re very embarrassed when they say, ‘We want voter ID,’” he said.
“The only reason somebody doesn’t want that is because they want to cheat,” he continued.
The president emphasized his support for the SAVE Act, which would require those registering to vote in federal elections to present proof of U.S. citizenship.
“You can win, not only win elections over that, and not only win future elections, but you’ll win every debate because the public is really angry about it, and you ought to pass the SAFE [sic] Act,” Trump told House Republicans.
Trump also suggested a name tweak, floating the “SAVE America Act.”
“It’s a bad vote for them [Democrats] because they’re voting against things like voter ID and other things that are almost equal to voter ID. But when somebody says, ‘No, we don’t want voter ID,’ that means they’re crooked, and the public understands it,” he said.
“You win elections with that. But I think it would be really important. SAVE AMERICA Act: If you would put that up for a vote, it’s got my total endorsement,” he added.
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