Days After Claiming Election Fraud, Trump Defends Mail-in Voting

Just days after claiming that the US election system is 'corrupt' ahead of the midterm elections (congressional elections held midway through a president's term), President Trump showed a change of heart by defending mail-in voting.

Late at night, two days before Brazil's first-round presidential vote, Trump emphasized on social media that "the results for 125 million voters in Brazil were announced on the same day." He then claimed that "the US election system, where some states and cities with far fewer voters take weeks to count ballots, is corrupt."

Votes are counted quickly in Brazil because electronic voting and counting machines are used in all elections. In the US, where procedures differ from state to state, results are often not finalized until after Election Day, depending on the counting of early and mail-in ballots.

Trump has been criticized for listing places where counting was delayed in the 2020 election he lost and even using the word 'rigged,' and for continuing to claim the possibility of mail-in voting fraud after his push for legislation effectively banning it failed.

Yet at a campaign rally on the 5th (local time), he encouraged mail-in voting, saying, "It's better to vote in person, but voters can vote by mail if they want," drawing accusations of self-contradiction.