President Trump told Politico in an Oval Office interview published Friday that mail-in voting poses the "biggest risk" to his re-election prospects —all as the Republican Party funnels millions of dollars into lawsuits meant to limit the process.
Why it matters: Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that mail-in voting leads to voter fraud.
- Twitter's first fact-check on his tweets was over his unsubstantiated claims on the topic.
- He also threatened to withhold funding from states that expand mail-in voting options in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Worth noting: A special House election in California was held primarily by mail last month — and was the first time a Republican flipped a Democratic seat in the state since 1998.
What he's saying: "My biggest risk is that we don’t win lawsuits. We have many lawsuits going all over. And if we don't win those lawsuits, I think — I think it puts the election at risk," Trump told Politico regarding the mail-in battle.
- He also said that Hillary Clinton was "obviously smarter" than Joe Biden. "I can tell you a lot about Hillary. ... She had a lot of energy and she was smart," he added.
Go deeper: FEC commissioner refutes Trump's voter fraud claims
