President Trump unloaded on Democrats over the Alaska Senate race as he departed for Ohio, accusing the party of running a fake candidate named Dan Sullivan to siphon votes from Republican Senator Dan Sullivan and declaring those involved 'should be prosecuted criminally.'
'Oh, it's terrible what's happened in Alaska,' Trump said. 'So they said they didn't do this and it turned out they did. The New York Times just released actually an incredible story on it. They created a fake candidate. They took a candidate named Dan Sullivan to run against another candidate who's a great senator named Dan Sullivan in order to cheat in the election.'
'That's What They Do Best — They Cheat'
The president said the scheme was designed to confuse voters by putting two Dan Sullivans on the ballot, without the Republican incumbent's title to distinguish him. 'They had a Dan Sullivan running against Senator Dan Sullivan and they didn't put Senator in front of you two Dan Sullivan. The people aren't going to be able to tell and it's a fraud,' Trump said.
He rejected Democratic denials and said evidence of the plot emerged just before his remarks. 'They said they didn't do it and we caught them cold,' Trump said. 'It was just revealed 20 minutes ago that this was happening, so they went to court and they knew nothing about it. They had nothing to do with it. So that's a fraud.'
Calls for Resignation and Prosecution
Trump singled out Democratic candidate Mary Heltola and demanded she drop out of the race. 'Mary Heltola should resign from the race. I think she should be prosecuted criminally for what she did,' he said.
The president framed the episode as part of a broader pattern of Democratic election tactics. 'That's what they do best — they cheat. They have bad policy, but they cheat,' Trump said. 'It was a plot by the Democrat Party — and, frankly, I think they should be prosecuted. To me, that's voter fraud at the highest level.'
