Billionaire founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel, who has been supportive of Donald Trump, voiced his concerns this week that Democrats would find a way to “cheat” the former president out of a victory over Vice President Kamala Harris if the race was “close.” He also criticized the nature of modern U.S. elections and compared the way they are conducted unfavorably to the way elections are held in democratic Europe.
“If it is going to be close, by the way, if it is a razor-thin close election, I’m pretty sure Kamala will win because they will cheat,” he told the “All In” podcast. “They will cheat. They will fortify it. They will steal the ballots. In the event that it is close, I don’t want to be involved. In the event that it is not close, I don’t need to be involved. So that it is a straightforward analysis right there.”
A host asked: “How much cheating to you think happens every year?” Thiel responded: “You need to be careful with the verb. Cheating, stealing — implies something happens in the dark of night. I think the verb you’re allowed to use is ‘fortify.’ Like ballot harvesting, all these rule changes were sort of done in plain daylight. I think our elections are not perfectly clean, otherwise, we could examine it and have a vigorous debate about it.”
Asked what he would change about how U.S. elections are conducted, Thiel said: “I don’t know. At a minimum, you’d try to run elections the same way you do it in every other Western democracy. You have one-day voting. You have practically no absentee ballots. It’s one day where everything happens. It’s not this two-month elongated process. That the way they do it in every other country. You’d have a somewhat stronger voter ID and make sure that the people who are voting have a right to vote. That’s basically what they do in every other Western democracy, and it used to be more like that in the U.S. It has meaningfully decayed over the last 20-30 years. 30-40 years ago, you got the results on the day of the vote. That sort of stopped happening.”
WATCH:
BREAKING: Peter Thiel says if the 2024 election is close, Kamala Harris will cheat to STEAL it. He’s also joining people like Elon Musk and calling for strict Voter ID, in-person election-day voting, & heavy restrictions on mail-in voting
“They will cheat. They will fortify it.… pic.twitter.com/irWvuzaasU
— George (@BehizyTweets) September 14, 2024
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien made history as the first union leader in the organization’s 121-year existence to address the Republican National Convention, and on Wednesday, he unveiled compelling polling data from within the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in a public release. Traditionally supportive of Democratic candidates, the Teamsters—one of the nation’s largest unions—are drawing significant attention with this unexpected development.
“We’ve done some research-based polling that we will be presenting to the general executive board, all three of those polling models, on Wednesday. And then we’ll deliberate, and a decision will be made then,” O’Brien said on Monday according to The Hill. “We don’t just represent registered Democrats, we represent registered Republicans and independents, so we have to take [that] into consideration.” The Teamsters Union, officially known as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), is one of North America’s oldest, largest and most influential labor unions.
Founded in 1903, the Teamsters originally represented horse team drivers and warehouse workers. Today, their membership spans a wide array of industries, including freight, healthcare, and public sectors. With over 1.4 million members, the union is a formidable force in labor negotiations and political advocacy. The Teamsters are dedicated to improving working conditions, wages, and benefits for their members. They have led major labor movements and played a crucial role in shaping labor laws and policies in the United States. Additionally, their significant political influence is demonstrated through their frequent endorsements and support of candidates who commit to defending labor rights.
According to survey data released by the union on Wednesday, Trump holds a significant advantage over Harris among Teamsters members as the union considers its presidential endorsement. The online poll revealed that nearly 60 percent of participating members favored Trump, while 34 percent supported Harris. A simultaneous phone survey confirmed these findings, with Trump garnering 58 percent of the support compared to Harris’s 31 percent. That said, the union has announced it won’t be supporting either candidate this year, which is more of a blow to Harris than to Trump.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.