FACT: Donald Trump has threatened political violence and warned of a “bloodbath” if he loses in November, and he is vowing to be a dictator on “day one” if he wins.

Associated Press: “Trump threatens to jail adversaries in escalating rhetoric ahead of pivotal debate”

Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN: “Many people have lost American presidential elections over the last 230 years – Trump is the only one to say about violence if he loses ‘it depends.’”

NBC News: “Trump says there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses the election”

The Atlantic: “Trump Says He’ll Be a Dictator on ‘Day One’”

Associated Press: “Trump declines to rule out abusing power to seek retribution if he returns to the White House”

Washington Post: “Trump calls political enemies ‘vermin,’ echoing dictators Hitler, Mussolini”

The Guardian: “Donald Trump says he will lock up his political enemies if he is president again.”

FACT: Trump is still pushing baseless lies about his loss by over 7 million votes in the 2020 election.

Associated Press: “[Trump] is flooding the airwaves and his social media platform with distortions, misinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories about his defeat.”

NBC News: “Re-litigating the 2020 election, repeating false claims it was stolen and casting aspersions on the security of mail voting remain major fixtures for [Trump] on the stump. … He regularly refers to the 2020 election as ‘rigged’ on his social media channels.”

FACT: Trump continues to praise and promise pardons for the violent insurrectionists he rallied to storm the Capitol on January 6, calling them “hostages” and “patriots.” 

The Hill: “Trump describes imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters as ‘hostages’”

Washington Post: “Trump vows pardons, government apology to Capitol rioters if elected”

NBC News: “Former President Donald Trump promised Wednesday night that if he is elected he will pardon a ‘large portion’ of the people convicted of federal offenses for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.”

Trump: “January 6, it was the largest crowd I’ve ever spoken to. And they were there proud, they were there with love in their heart. That was an unbelievable — and it was a beautiful day.”

Rachel Scott, ABC News: “140 police officers were assaulted [on January 6]. Their injuries included broken bones, at least one officer lost an eye, one had two cracked ribs, two smashed spinal discs, another had a stroke. Were the people who assaulted those 140 officers, including those I just mentioned, ‘patriots’ who deserve pardons?”

[Trump refuses to answer]

Scott: “But sir, my question is on those rioters who assaulted officers. Would you pardon those people?”

Donald Trump: “Oh absolutely I would. If they’re innocent, I would pardon them.”

Scott: “They’ve been convicted.”

FACT: When asked if he would have certified the last election, JD Vance instead said he “would have asked the states” to send him slates of fake electors.

Jason Calacanis: “Would you have certified the [last result of the election]?”

Vance: “Again, I would have asked the states to submit alternative slates of electors and let the country have the debate about what actually matters and what kind of an election that we have.” 

Calacanis: “You wouldn’t have certified, to be clear?”

Vance: “I would have asked the states to submit alternative slates of electors, that’s what I would have done.”

REMINDER: As his Project 2025 allies lay the foundation for him to serve a third term if reelected this November, Trump told supporters they “won’t have to vote anymore” if he wins.

Trump: “You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what – it will be fixed, it will be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore.”

Media Matters: “The American Conservative, a right-wing blog and Project 2025 partner, published an article advocating to repeal the 22nd Amendment so that Donald Trump would be able to serve a third term…

“An article headlined ‘Trump 2028’ published in The American Conservative advocates for the amendment’s repeal so that Trump could be eligible to serve a third term should he win the 2024 election. The American Conservative is a partner of Project 2025, the conservative movement’s comprehensive transition plan for the next Republican presidency. Project 2025 — organized and led by The Heritage Foundation, a leading right-wing think tank — is a policy and staffing initiative that threatens to weaken democracy, significantly roll back civil rights, and exacerbate climate change, among other issues.”

MSNBC: “Trump again floats the idea of serving a third presidential term”

“Alas, this was not an isolated comment. Five years ago this month, Trump retweeted Jerry Falwell Jr. — before his ignominious fall from grace — arguing that the president deserves a six-year first term ‘as payback for time stolen’ by the investigation into the Russia scandal. Trump echoed Falwell’s sentiment in a pair of tweets an hour later, writing that nefarious forces ‘have stolen two years of my (our) Presidency (Collusion Delusion) that we will never be able to get back.’

“A year later, as Election Day 2020 drew closer, the Republican started pushing the line with greater frequency — and apparent sincerity.

“At a campaign stop in Arizona in August 2020, for example, Trump was greeted by supporters chanting, ‘Four more years.’ Before the then-president could even begin his remarks in earnest, he endorsed the chant and added some related thoughts: ‘Thank you very much. And you know, considering that we caught President Obama and sleepy Joe Biden, spying on our campaign — treason — we’ll probably be entitled to another four more years after that.’”

FACT: Vance is an extreme election denier who won’t commit to accepting this November’s election results, echoes baseless lies about the 2020 election, and continues to whitewash the violent January 6 insurrection.

HuffPost: “[Vance] said he would accept a Biden win only if he considered the election to be legitimate. … Vance’s comments illustrate a new tactic by Republican lawmakers, who are now placing conditions on accepting election results.”

New York Times: “J.D. Vance Says He Would Accept the Election Results, With a Caveat”

Vance: “I think the entire post-2020 thing would have gone a lot better if there had actually been an effort to provide alternative slates of electors, and to force us to have that debate. I think it would’ve been a much better thing for the country. … [Trump] was trying to take a constitutional process to its natural conclusion.

“I think it would’ve been extraordinarily disappointing to a whole host of people that I care a lot about if Trump had just taken it [and conceded the 2020 election before January 6].”

Vance: “No real Republican with any credibility in the party is still blaming [Trump for January 6].”

ABC News: “JD Vance says [he] wouldn’t have certified 2020 race until states submitted pro-Trump electors”

New York Times: “[Vance] has said that, unlike Vice President Mike Pence in 2020, he would have helped Mr. Trump overturn the results, by accepting Trump electors that had not been elected by voters.”

The Hill: “JD Vance says he is ‘skeptical’ Pence’s life was in danger on Jan. 6”

Politico: “[Vance] downplayed the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, when Pence was forced to evacuate the building as rioters called for his hanging.”

FACT: Vance also has no problem with Trump using the government to go after his political opponents.

Kristen Welker, NBC: “Senator, if former President Trump were to win, if you were to be his vice president, would you support him appointing a special prosecutor to go after his political enemies, the Bidens?”

[…]

Vance: “Donald Trump is talking about appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Joe Biden for wrongdoing.

[…]

“I think what Donald Trump is simply saying is we ought to investigate the prior administration.”