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President Donald Trump on Friday reignited his baseless claims about the 2020 election, calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the race he lost to Joe Biden over four years ago.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump falsely declared that he had won the 2020 election in a “LANDSLIDE!” and claimed the outcome was the result of “total FRAUD.” He added: “A Special Prosecutor must be appointed. This cannot be allowed to happen again in the United States of America! Let the work begin!”
The Justice Department declined to comment on Trump’s demand. No credible evidence has ever emerged to support widespread voter fraud that could have impacted the outcome of the 2020 election — a conclusion reaffirmed by numerous court rulings, election officials from both parties, and Trump’s own former attorney general, Bill Barr.
Contradiction With Previous Remarks
Trump’s call for an investigation contrasts sharply with comments he made during a December 2024 interview with NBC’s Meet the Press. At the time, he told moderator Kristen Welker that, although he had the authority to direct such a probe, he wasn’t interested in relitigating the past.
“I’m not interested,” Trump said. “You know what I’m interested in? Drilling, and getting prices down, and stopping people from pouring into our border.”
Renewed Focus on Conspiracy Claims
Trump’s renewed push for a 2020 investigation comes days after he echoed unverified allegations promoted by FBI Director Kash Patel, who boosted a claim that fake IDs were used to cast illegal votes — based on a single, uncorroborated FBI source.
This marks a return to familiar territory for Trump, who spent much of his post-2020 period amplifying debunked election theories and promoting efforts to “audit” results in key states.
Legal History and Political Fallout
Ironically, Trump himself was the subject of two separate special counsel investigations in recent years:
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The Mueller probe during his first term looked into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
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The Jack Smith probe, launched under Biden, led to two federal indictments: one over mishandling classified documents, and another over Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 results, culminating in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Smith’s Jan. 6-related case was dropped after Trump won the 2024 election. In his final report, Smith concluded:
“Trump knew that there was no outcome-determinative fraud in the 2020 election, that many of the specific claims that he made were untrue, and that he had lost the election.”
Trump’s Second-Term Actions
Upon taking office again in January, Trump’s Justice Department ceased its appeal of Judge Aileen Cannon’s controversial ruling that Smith’s appointment was unlawful — effectively gutting the classified documents case.
In one of his first executive actions, Trump granted clemency to roughly 1,500 people charged or convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection, including individuals who had assaulted police officers.
Critics Warn of Democratic Erosion
Trump’s renewed push for a 2020 election investigation — despite admitting months ago that he was not interested in doing so — has alarmed legal experts and civil rights groups who warn that such actions reflect a broader pattern of weaponizing federal power for personal political aims.
Former Justice Department official Andrew Weissmann called the move “dangerous political theater,” adding that it “further erodes the public’s faith in democratic processes and independent law enforcement.”
As Trump moves deeper into his second term, observers say his continued obsession with 2020 could signal more politically motivated investigations — and further strain the already fragile guardrails of U.S. democracy.
