Donald Trump
Role at the time: President of the United States
Defended or excused
Response to this claim
The premature Maricopa County ballot mailing was not an error and reflected dishonest conduct.
“There were no errors. ... Maricopa sent out thousands of ballots illegally and they got caught, and now they're saying it was an error. Maricopa is a very, very dishonest county.”
Read the original text (opens in a new tab)Trump's October 5 remarks about early Maricopa ballots · Roll CallFull press-gaggle transcript; approximately 00:42-01:21, response about Maricopa County ballots
Trump answers a reporter's question about the mailing and says there were no errors.
Why we used this label
The reference point is the claim that the early ballot mailing was deliberate misconduct. Trump says there were no errors, that Maricopa sent out the ballots illegally and that the county is dishonest, which supports the claim and fits Defended or excused. The closest competing label, Challenged the characterization, loses because he asserts the claim itself rather than only disputing how the incident is described.