Michael Moore: The only way Trump wins in 2020 is if he ‘cheats’

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore said Friday night that there’s no way President Trump can win reelection unless he “cheats.”

Moore appeared on “Real Time with Bill Maher” and warned that Trump may be planning ways to boost his chances against former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, in November.

“The only way they are going to pull it off is if he’s able to cancel the election or postpone it,” Moore said of the Trump campaign. “That is what we’re going to have to fight against because I’m certain that is what is going on in his head right now.”

Moore noted that Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic candidate, won the popular vote against Trump by 3 million votes but still lost the election. He suggested that Biden will win by 5 million but said Trump could still win the Electoral College with the help of his ardent fan base of supporters.

Maher suggested that is why Trump is warning against making voting easier for more people, noting the president’s comments earlier this month against mail-in ballots: “You’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.” 

“That is actually what he said,” Maher said. “You’ve got to give it to this guy. He does speak his inner monologue.”

Moore said that if voting is made easier and there is no voter suppression, “Republicans are going to lose.”

“The majority of the country does not support the Republican agenda. The majority of the country are not climate deniers. The majority of the country believe women should be paid the same as men. Go down the whole list,” Moore said.

“The only way Republicans can win, and this has been true for a few elections, is to cheat, is to somehow game it, rig it, do whatever they need to do,” he added. 

Trump has frequently panned the idea of expanding mail-in voting, raising unsubstantiated claims that mail-in ballots are “corrupt” and susceptible with fraud. Voting experts recognize that there are higher levels of voter fraud with mail-in voting than with in-person voting, though cases of fraud remain rare overall. 

The HBO host noted Trump’s “war with the post office,” which includes threatening to withhold federal funds from Michigan over its decision to mail absentee ballot applications to all registered voters given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) slammed Trump’s threat, calling it “scary” and “unacceptable.”

Maher noted that it sounded “like the exact same playbook from Ukraine — withholding aid,” referring to Trump’s impeachment.

“That’s one of his big tricks, except this is our country,” Maher added.

Moore, a frequent Trump critic who directed a documentary about the president’s 2016 victory called “Fahrenheit 11/9,” called for Americans to be “in fighting mode.”

“Because he is,” Moore said.