At a rally Sunday in Lititz, Pennsylvania, former President Donald Trump again said that he “shouldn’t have left” the White House at the end of his term.
The Lititz appearance was his first of three swing-state stops planned for Sunday, the second to last day before the official Election Day on Nov. 5.
Ditching his notes, Trump spoke off-the-cuff in Pennsylvania on his term, starting with his immigration record.
“We had the best border, the safest border,” Trump said of his White House accomplishments. He mentioned a chart on immigration that he was pointing to on the day of the Butler, Pennsylvania assassination attempt. “It said we had the safest border in the history of our country the day that I left.”
He continued, “I shouldn’t have left, I mean, honestly. We did so well, we had such a great —” and then cut himself off before picking up by noting, “So now, every polling booth has hundreds of lawyers standing there.”
Reporting on the Lititz event, the New York Times inferred that Trump’s statements meant that he should not have physically vacated the White House because he actually won the 2020 election, pointing to alleged quotes from unnamed aides about his intentions not to leave.
Trump challenged the election results in the aftermath, culminating in the Jan. 6 insurrection of the Capitol. Trump has frequently brought up irregularities he believes happened in the 202o balloting tabulations.
In Pennsylvania, Trump also complained about various polls showing a surge in support for Democratic party challenger Kamala Harris. His campaign has said polls by the Des Moines Register of Iowa showing Trump losing the state by four points to Harris, and New York Times/Siena College polls of battleground states showing Harris gaining, were incorrect.
To accent those media claims, Trump pointed out the protective glass that is being used at outdoor rallies to shield him from potential assassination attempts.
“To get to me, somebody would have to shoot through fake news, and I don’t mind that much, ’cause, I don’t mind. I don’t mind,” he said, drawing laughter and cheers from some in the crowd.
