Trump says he would have won California if ‘Jesus Christ counted the votes,’ calls state election system ‘rigged’ | Today’s news
US President Donald Trump stepped up his long-running attacks on the US election on Wednesday (May 20th), claiming he would carry Democratic California hard if “Jesus Christ” personally counted the ballots.
Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews before leaving to deliver the commencement address to the United States Coast Guard Academy, Trump argued that California’s election system is fundamentally corrupt.
“If we made Jesus Christ come down and count the votes, I’d win California because I do great with Hispanics. But it’s a rigged vote.”
Trump specifically took aim at California’s expanded mail-in voting system, claiming the state’s elections are “very unfair.”
“You have all the postal tickets, everything else. It’s very hard to win because the election is very unfair.”
He further alleged that millions of ballots were improperly distributed.
“They sent 38 million votes. Nobody knows where they’re going.”
Losses in California contradict Trump’s claims
Trump’s comments contrast with the results of the last three presidential elections in California, where Democrats won by landslide margins.
In 2024, Kamala Harris beat Trump in California by about 20 percentage points. Trump also lost the state by about 29 points to Joe Biden in 2020 and by about 30 points to Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Despite these margins, Trump has repeatedly claimed that Democratic-leaning states engage in widespread voter fraud, particularly absentee and mail-in voting.
The comments came during a discussion about politics in Los Angeles
Trump said this after being asked about Spencer Pratt, the former star of MTV’s reality series The Hills, who is reportedly running as the Republican candidate for mayor of Los Angeles.
“I hear he’s a big MAGA person. He’s doing well.”
Trump quickly backtracked on his claims about the California election.
“You really have a rigged vote in California.”
Republican primary victory
Trump-backed candidate Ed Gallrein defeated Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie, one of Trump’s most vocal Republican critics in Congress.
At the same time, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy also lost his Republican primary contest after opposition from Trump.
Trump also sparked tension in Senate Republican circles by endorsing Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the upcoming Texas primary.
“They want to win. I know how to win. Some of them don’t know how to win.”
This is not the first time that Trump has invoked Jesus. Trump’s comments also come at a time of escalating tensions with the Catholic Church and Pope Leo XIV.
In recent weeks, Trump has shared several AI-generated religious images depicting him in images of Christ. One now-deleted image showed Trump wearing a robe and treating a man as he stood among patriotic American symbols including the Statue of Liberty and the Lincoln Memorial.
Asked about the image, Trump defended him by saying, “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better, and I make people better.
On Wednesday, Trump reportedly posted another AI-generated image showing Jesus hugging him, accompanied by the message: “A radical leftist lunatic might not like this, but I think it’s pretty nice!!!
Pope Leo criticizes the war
Relations between Trump and Pope Leo further soured after disagreements over the Iran-Israel conflict.
During a recent Palm Sunday address, Pope Leo criticized leaders who invoke religion to justify war.
“God rejects the prayers of those who wage war.”
Trump later publicly attacked the pope, calling him “very liberal” and accusing him of being weak on foreign policy.
“Pope Leo is WEAK on crime and terrible on foreign policy.”
The Pope responded by defending his position, which is rooted in Christian teaching rather than politics.
“My opposition to war was rooted in the gospel, not political ideology.
He added: “I will continue to do what I believe is the mission of the church in today’s world.”
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