Trump and his allies planting seeds for 'chaos and discord' if he loses, experts say

Donald Trump and election denialist allies at Turning Point USA, True the Vote and other Maga stalwarts are spreading conspiracy theories about election fraud to lay the groundwork for claiming the election was rigged if Trump loses, warn election experts and some veteran Republicans.

- Peter Stone

The consequences of the strategy could be dire. John Giles, the Republican mayor of Mesa, Arizona, who spoke at the Democratic national convention in August in support of Kamala Harris's campaign for the presidency, said the former president and his allies "will throw everything at the wall and see what sticks", if Trump loses.

He added: "They'll claim everything went wrong if they lose. I'd be surprised if Trump doesn't try to foment insurrection."

Trump and his Maga allies have repeated falsehoods from 2020 about fraud due to voting machines and drop boxes. Now they promote conspiratorial attacks on federal and state prosecutors who filed criminal charges against Trump for trying to subvert his loss in 2020, and push baseless claims that non-citizens are poised to vote in large numbers.

Turning Point USA has pushed a multimillion-dollar drive to get out more votes for Trump in key swing states, while holding a few big rallies for Trump where bogus claims are made that the 2020 election was rigged, and new fears are being raised about potential fraud this year.

Trump and allies have spent months attacking "election interference" and "lawfare" to sully federal and state charges he faces over his multiple and aggressive efforts to block Joe Biden from taking office on 6 January 2021, a tactic that aims both to rally his backers and undercut the rule of law, experts say.