Trump says mail-in voting is ‘corrupt.’ The president voted by mail just days ago

“It’s not surprising that he’s utilizing something he’s waging war on. It’s the hypocrisy, but that is what he’s always done,” political commentator Reecie Colbert told theGrio.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly denounced the practice of mail-in voting, calling it “corrupt” and a form of “cheating” in elections. As recently as Monday, the president characterized mail-in voting as “mail-in cheating.”

However, a Washington Post report reveals that despite Trump’s pronouncements against mail-in voting, the president recently voted by mail in Tuesday’s special election in Palm Beach, Florida.

The report cites voter records on the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections website that show Trump voted by mail in Palm Beach County, where he resides at his Mar-a-Lago estate and beach club outside of the White House. The Washington Post report also revealed that Trump has been registered to vote in Florida since 2019 and that he mailed his ballot at least one other time in 2020.

The revelation that Trump voted by mail is a clear contradiction of his public statements and his big push for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote and restrict voting by mail. During a roundtable in Memphis on Monday, Trump also falsely claimed that the United States is the only country that allows mail-in voting. At least 34 countries allow voters to mail in their ballots.

“It’s not surprising that he’s utilizing something he’s waging war on. It’s the hypocrisy, but that is what he’s always done,” political commentator Reecie Colbert told theGrio.

Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright said President Trump’s efforts to end mail-in voting are intended to sow doubt about its practice ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, in which his party is expected to suffer major losses.

“It’s clear to me that the president is afraid of people voting, and he’s certainly afraid of people exercising their ability to cast a vote in disagreement with him, and we’ve seen unlimited flirtation and attempts to try to not only rearrange the conversation around voting and people participating, but also we’ve seen measures trying to go forth to prevent people from voting in elections to come,” Seawright told theGrio.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for a consequential case on the future of mail-in voting, which could have repercussions for access to the ballot for Black and Brown voters in states where advocates say Republican leaders are trying to suppress their vote.

“I think with Black people, we have to understand the assignment. And the known in the equation is that they’re going to cheat. The known in the equation is that they’re going to suppress our votes. And so what we have to do is we have to be the unknown in the equation, which is what we do has to exceed what they’re trying to do,” said Colbert.

The host of Sirius XM’s “The Reecie Colbert Show” told theGrio that Republicans are making the “calculation” that their voters are higher propensity voters and therefore the “roadblocks” placed to deter Black and Brown voters will still result in Republicans “going to vote anyway.” She explained, “I don’t think that that’s necessarily a smart calculation, but that’s what they’re banking on.”

Colbert added, “We know the table has been set. It’s incumbent upon us to make sure that our votes are not disenfranchised. And that’s not fair…but those are the cards that were dealt. So we have to make sure that we vote out of cheating distance of them.”

Seawright, who advises many national Democratic campaigns, said President Trump and Republicans will turn to “unlimited measures and attempts to try to silence and suffocate the voices” of voters, whether Black or not.

“At one point in time, some of us thought that it was just African-American voices that they wanted to silence and suffocate, and in some cases exterminate. Now, it’s pretty much anyone who may stand in disagreement with the extreme agenda that has come out of this modern-day Republican Party,” said Seawright.

Colbert pointed out one other irony to the revelation that Trump voted by mail in a state that still restricts access to voting for convicted felons.

“Florida has waged war on felons voting, and yet the felon, 34-time convicted felon president, still is voting in Florida elections,” she said.