Trump narrowly lost to Joe Biden in Arizona.
July 1, 2023, 5:46 PM
Former President Donald Trump attempted to pressure then-Gov. Doug Ducey to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Arizona , according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The Washington Post first reported the allegations.
Sources also confirm to ABC News that Trump dispatched former Vice President Mike Pence to pressure Ducey to find fraudulent votes in the state, and that while Pence did call Ducey multiple times in the aftermath of the election, he did not follow those orders.
Trump narrowly lost Arizona to Joe Biden in November 2020.
President Donald Trump (L) talks to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) during a working lunch with governors on workforce freedom and mobility at the Cabinet Room of the White House June 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
No recording of the call was made, sources told ABC News.
A spokesperson for Ducey called this reporting “nothing more than a ‘copy and paste’ of a compilation of articles from the past two years, disguised as something new.”
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump looks on as he attends the North Carolina Republican Party convention in Greensboro, N.C., June 10, 2023.
Jonathan Drake/Reuters
“Governor Ducey defended the results of Arizona’s 2020 election, he certified the election, and he made it clear that the certification provided a trigger for credible complaints backed by evidence to be brought forward. None were ever brought forward. The Governor stands by his action to certify the election and considers the issue to be in the rear view mirror — it’s time to move on,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Trump’s campaign, in response to the reporting, reiterated the former president’s view that “the 2020 Presidential election was rigged and stolen,” but did not refute the story.
“These witch-hunts are designed to interfere and meddle in the 2024 election in an attempt to prevent President Trump from returning to the White House to make this country great again,” the statement from Trump’s campaign said.