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Former President Donald Trump suggested that he could win deep blue California if Jesus Christ himself were to come down and count the votes, implying that the state’s elections are riddled with corruption. “I guarantee if Jesus came down and was the vote counter, I would win California, OK?” Trump remarked during an interview with television psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw, posted to Trump’s YouTube channel on Tuesday.
“In other words, if we had an honest vote counter, a really honest vote counter — I do great with the Hispanics, great,” he continued. “I mean, at a level that no Republican’s ever done. But if we had an honest vote counter, I would win California.”
Trump, 78, pointed out that “Democrats play a different game” and cited ballot harvesting—where absentee ballots are delivered to polling places on behalf of voters—as evidence of wrongdoing.
Despite his complaints about the process, the Trump campaign is working to encourage early voting among his supporters in order to secure a victory.
Trump highlighted his political appeal in California by recalling the massive crowds he drew in the state. “I gave a speech. … I had a crowd so big. I said, ‘There’s no way I could lose California,’ but automatically, they mark it down, if you’re a Republican, as a loss, that you lose by 5 million votes,” Trump lamented to Dr. Phil, who later challenged his assertion.
“I go around California. They have Trump signs all over the place. It’s very dishonest,” Trump insisted when pressed on his bold claim.
In response, Harris campaign spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika criticized Trump’s remarks. “He still doesn’t acknowledge that he lost the 2020 election four years ago – despite the violent insurrection launched in his name. While Donald Trump refuses to acknowledge the facts, voters know Vice President Harris is the candidate to lead us into the future,” she stated.
Trump suffered significant defeats in California during both the 2016 and 2020 elections, losing by over 30 points and 4 million votes in 2016, and by just shy of 30 points and over 5 million votes in 2020. His losses in California made up a large portion of his national popular vote deficit in both elections.
Republicans haven’t won California in a presidential election since 1988 when George H. W. Bush prevailed amid shifting demographics.
Trump has a history of making unfounded claims about election fraud. Shortly after his 2016 victory, he asserted, without evidence, that millions of illegal votes were cast against him, costing him the popular vote. Similarly, after his 2020 defeat, he claimed the election was “rigged” and “stolen” from him—allegations that election officials have vehemently denied.
Later in his interview with Dr. Phil, Trump invoked religion while reflecting on his near-death experience last month during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a bullet grazed his right ear, narrowly missing him.
“There had to be some great power,” Trump mused about how he turned his head just in time to avoid the bullet. “So I shouldn’t be with you.”
“The only thing I can think is that God loves our country, and he thinks we’re going to bring our country back,” Trump added, explaining his belief in divine intervention. “It has to be God. I mean, how can you say it’s luck when it’s 20 million to 1?”
