Lara Trump, the newly elected co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump, has ignited controversy with her warning that anyone thinking about "cheating in an election" will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Her comments, made during an interview with Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures, have drawn both criticism and support on social media.
In the interview with host Maria Bartiromo, Lara Trump discussed the RNC's priorities, including "protecting the vote" and the establishment of an election integrity division. "We have to ensure that when people go vote, they feel like their vote counts...We can never allow what happened in 2020 and the questions surrounding that election to ever happen again," she said, alluding to the false claims of widespread voter fraud perpetuated by her father-in-law and his allies following his 2020 election loss.
Lara Trump's warning to potential election "cheaters" came as a strong message: "To anyone out there who's thinking about cheating in an election, we will go after you. You will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law...Every person in this country should want free, fair, and transparent elections."
Her comments come in the wake of U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland's announcement last week that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will challenge restrictions to the ballot, including mail-in voting. Garland stated, "That is why the Justice Department is fighting back. That is why one of the first things I did when I came into office was to double the size of the voting section of the civil rights division. That is why we are challenging efforts by states and jurisdictions to implement discriminatory, burdensome, and unnecessary restrictions on access to the ballot, including those related to mail-in voting, the use of drop boxes, and voter ID requirements."
The methods of expanding voting access listed by Garland have often come under scrutiny from Republican-led governments, with their efforts to curtail them being criticized as attempts to minimize the ability of predominantly marginalized communities to vote. These ideas have been adopted by followers of Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement, despite being widely debunked by Democrats and independent experts.
Lara Trump's comments have sparked a range of reactions on social media, with some users accusing her of hypocrisy given her father-in-law's ongoing legal battles related to the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Attorney Bradley P. Moss posted on X, formerly Twitter, "We're looking at you, MAGA folks in The Villages," while the account Republican Accountability asked, "Does this include Donald Trump?"
Other users criticized Lara Trump's stance, with Blue Georgia posting, "When Republicans talk about election fraud, show them this," and progressive political commentator Luke Beasley writing, "Lara Trump endorses Donald Trump being prosecuted for his crimes."
However, some users appeared to agree with Lara Trump's message, with X user pasbless writing, "Lara, We need a ground game plan if President Trump is going to win! We are good at signing up for votes votes, we need to become better at making sure every vote counts!"
Lara Trump's elevation to the role of RNC co-chair alongside Michael Whatley, a long-time Trump supporter who has previously backed false claims that Trump rightfully won the 2020 presidential election, has raised concerns among some about the direction of the Republican Party. As the 2024 election cycle approaches, the issue of election integrity and the ongoing influence of Donald Trump's baseless claims of voter fraud are likely to remain at the forefront of political discourse.
