"Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California," President-Elect Donald Trump fumed on Twitter yesterday, "so why isn't the media reporting on this?" Easy answer: Because it didn't happen. Spreading Trump's statement, a dangerous conspiracy theory and convenient lie, would be irresponsible. As such, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla had some choice words for Trump, denying the claim of voter fraud in his state as "unsubstantiated" and "absurd," all the while schooling Trump in propriety.
The President-Elect made his claim after learning democratic rival Hillary Clinton would join Green Party candidate Jill Stein's recount effort in Wisconsin. As the popular vote margin won by Hillary Clinton grows, Trump launched the baseless allegation that he would have "won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally."
Padilla was having none of that. His succinct statement in response to Trump's storm of tweets:
"It appears that Mr. Trump is troubled by the fact that a growing majority of Americans did not vote for him. His unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in California and elsewhere are absurd. His reckless tweets are inappropriate and unbecoming of a President-elect."
Ya burnt.
As liberal California politicians form a bulwark against the coming Trump administration, Padilla previously issued a condemnation of Trump's appointment of Steve Bannon, the Chairman of conspiracy-peddling website Breitbart Media, for the job of chief strategist and senior council. "With the appointment of Steve Bannon as “chief strategist” Mr. Trump is effectively giving white supremacists and anti-Semites a seat at the table," Padilla wrote. "While the Trump campaign ran on a platform that emphasized immigrant bashing and an open flirtation with the Alt-right, Bannon will likely seek to make these policies a reality."
Related: SF Supervisors' Resolution: Climate Change Is Real, LGBT Rights Can't Change, And Black Lives Matter