Axios’ Jonathan Swan Says Trump’s Mail-In Voting Attack Could ‘Really Backfire’: Dems Don’t Believe Him, His Base Does

Axios’ Jonathan Swan said Donald Trump’s attacks on mail-in voting might be a self-inflicted wound for the president, given who is most likely to believe his claim that it leads to widespread corruption.

As Swan broke down his most recent interview with Trump on ABC’s This Week, the conversation turned toward Trump’s attempts to sow doubt on the 2020 election’s legitimacy ahead of time. Swan called Trump’s mail-in voting attacks “puzzling” as he explained that “it’s self-defeating in the view of many top Republican officials.”

“Who do you think are the people who are going to be persuaded by the president saying mail-in voting is a fraud, it’s completely illegitimate?” Swan asked. “It’s not gonna be Democratic voters. They don’t listen to him, they tune him out, the believe everything he says is false. It’s Republican voters [who will believe Trump].”

Swan continued by explaining that the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee have both made efforts to set up processes that will allow their supporters to vote by mail in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. And yet, their supporters “are hearing this president — who they hang on every word he says in some cases — telling them that this is fraudulent.”

“So the Republican Party better hope for nice weather on Election Day or a diminished virus,” Swan said. “They could see this really backfire.”

Swan concluded by offering his hypothesis that Trump is using this talking point to lay the groundwork for claiming the election was “stolen” from him in the event he loses to former Vice President Joe Biden.

Watch above, via ABC.