Trump claimed that he lost the popular vote because of millions of double votes and illegal immigrants committing voter fraud. Though he repeated the claims many times, no evidence has been provided. He has asserted that voter ID laws are necessary to curb fraud, saying that Americans need ID to buy groceries but not to vote.

The claims began immediately after Trump’s election victory.

Trump repeated the assertions even after inauguration. Then-Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in Trump’s defense,

I think he’s stated his concerns of voter fraud and people voting illegally during the campaign and he continues to maintain that belief based on studies and evidence people have presented to him.

Spicer also defended the President’s claim that he had the largest inaugural crowd size ever. After six months, Spicer resigned and was replaced by Anthony Scaramucci, who held the office for a record 11 days.

Though the Trump administration created an elections integrity commission to find evidence of fraud, none was ultimately found. He has continued to repeat the claim.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Congressional proposals included an expansion of voting by mail. Trump said that such measures would never allow for a Republican to be elected again.

BBC News – Trump claims millions voted illegally in presidential poll
Politico – Spicer makes misleading voter fraud claim to defend Trump’s false voter fraud claim
NBC News – Trump Again Makes Debunked Claim: ‘Illegals’ Cost Me Popular Vote
Politifact – No proof of Trump’s conspiracy theory that millions voted many times
Washington Post – Yet again, Trump falsely blames illegal voting for getting walloped in California