Donald Trump falsely claims to have won Minnesota in the 2020 presidential election

Former President Donald Trump said Friday that he won Minnesota in 2020, despite the fact that Democratic presidential candidates have carried the state for more than 40 years.

“I thought we won it in 2016. I thought we won it in ’20 — I know we won it in 2020,” he said during a speech at the Minnesota dinner GOP in St. Paul. Trump added: “We have to watch these votes. »

The false claim was the latest in a wave of election denialism and conspiracy comments the former president has made since his 2020 presidential defeat.

President Joe Biden won Minnesota in 2020 with 52.4% of the state’s vote, compared to Trump’s 45.3%. The gap between the two candidates was more than 233,000 votes.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won Minnesota in 2016, but by a tighter margin than Biden. Clinton received 46.9% of Minnesotans’ votes, while Trump received 45.4%.

Democrats have won Minnesota in every presidential election since 1976. In the previous cycle, the state went to Republican Richard Nixon.

During his speech, Trump said he would “win this state” in November.

Trump previously said of Minnesota in an interview published Wednesday by KSTP: “I thought I won easily in 2020.” In an interview broadcast on KNSI Radio in March, Trump first said of Minnesota in 2020: “I thought we won it last time. I’ll be honest. I think we won it,” before adding: “We didn’t win.” I’ll definitely get there.”

Biden campaign spokesman James Singer called the former president “disturbed by his defeat in 2020.”

“In 2020, Joe Biden beat him by 7 million votes, including more than 230,000 in Minnesota – and this November, Joe Biden is going to beat him again because Americans deserve better than a weak, desperate, loser. pathetic as Donald Trump commander in chief,” Singer said in a statement.

Trump also made a similar false statement about Wisconsin last month.

“We won this state by a lot. It turns out we won it,” Trump said at a rally.

However, Trump lost the state in 2020 by more than 20,000 votes. He was elected in 2016, becoming the first Republican to win the state since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Polls suggest Biden and Trump remain engaged in a tight race. An NBC News poll in April showed that 44% of registered voters preferred Biden and 46% preferred Trump in a head-to-head matchup.