White House press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s demand to “nationalize” elections was a reference to a piece of voting legislation.
Watch the White House press briefing in the video player above.
The White House spokeswoman tried to clarify the president’s statements after they sparked an uproar.
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Trump on a podcast Monday called for Republicans to “take over” and “nationalize” elections.
The comments came in the wake of an FBI raid on a Georgia election office that has been the target of Trump’s often-debunked conspiracy theories to explain away his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
Leavitt said Trump was referring to the SAVE Act, legislation tightening proof of citizenship requirements that some Republicans want to bring up for a congressional vote. House Republicans also introduced a second bill last week to change election procedures nationwide.
