--- title: "Trump says elections in Afghanistan were ‘more secure’ and ‘better run’ than in the US, which is plainly absurd" description: "Donald Trump claimed a “young military man” in Afghanistan said elections there were “far more secure and much better run” than the US." date: "2020-12-26" modified: "2020-12-26" authors: - name: "Paul Szoldra" job_title: "Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/paul-szoldra/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/trump-election-fraud-afghanistan/" categories: - "Afghanistan" - "Analysis" - "Around the World" - "News" tags: - "central command" - "donald trump" - "the white house" --- # Trump says elections in Afghanistan were ‘more secure’ and ‘better run’ than in the US, which is plainly absurd ![]() President Donald Trump claimed on Saturday that a “young military man” working in Afghanistan said elections there were “far more secure and much better run” than the U.S. presidential election of 2020, despite [Taliban suicide bombings killing scores]() of innocent people during a 2019 Afghan presidential election that devolved into [a monthslong political battle]() between candidates who both claimed victory. “A young military man working in Afghanistan told me that elections in Afghanistan are far more secure and much better run than the USA’s 2020 Election,” Trump wrote on Twitter, sharing [unsubstantiated]() and [thoroughly debunked]() claims of widespread voter fraud in the United States. “Ours, with its millions and millions of corrupt Mail-In Ballots, was the election of a third world country. Fake President!” https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1342832582606598144 The White House did not respond when asked what military branch the purported “young military man” served in or provide details of when and where the conversation occurred. (The president has often floated [conspiracies using similarly-vague]() sourcing or [invented nonexistent conversations.]()) As William Saletan [observed recently at]() Slate, Trump has for weeks undermined American democracy [by spreading lies]() of widespread voter fraud in the presidential election, which saw Democratic challenger and former vice president Joe Biden defeat the incumbent Republican president by 306 to Trump’s 232 votes in the Electoral College. Judges appointed by Republicans and Democrats have [rejected nearly 60 lawsuits]() brought by the Trump campaign alleging voter fraud since election day. “To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,” Attorney General William Barr [said]() on Dec. 1, weeks after Trump fired his most senior cybersecurity official, a lifelong Republican, who declared [the 2020 election]() “the most secure in American history.” The same could not be said of Afghanistan, where the presidential election on Sept. 28, 2019, saw only 2.2 million of 9.67 million [registered Afghans vote]() amid Taliban threats of violence and attacks that resulted in dozens of security forces and civilians killed. Insurgent attacks also blocked highways and blew up communication towers that affected phone signals in large parts of the country, [according]() to The New York Times. https://twitter.com/mikenelson586/status/1342904890503426048 Far from “better run,” Afghanistan initially failed to meet its deadline of having preliminary election results by Oct. 19, [according]() to a U.S. watchdog report to Congress. Four months later, the country’s election commission declared Afghan President Ashraf Ghani the winner of the election, leading challenger Abdullah Abdullah to immediately dispute the result. Both sides claimed fraud. The election only came to an end on May 17 when the candidates ended a three-month impasse and agreed to an [extraconstitutional power-sharing agreement]() brokered by the United States — an eerie [re-run of 2014.]() At one point in the bitter dispute, both candidates even took the oath of office as president of Afghanistan in a bizarre split-screen moment, [according]() to The New York Times, as sirens blared and a barrage of rockets landed in the Afghan capital of Kabul. So, if we can make any sense of the president’s tweet, it’s this: the “young military man working in Afghanistan” is probably made up and elections in Afghanistan are the complete opposite of “secure and better run.” But at least President Trump hasn’t tweeted [about SEAL Team 6 lately.]() ## Author Paul Szoldra was the Editor in Chief of Task & Purpose from October 2018 until August 2022. Since joining T&P, he has led a talented team of writers, editors, and creators who produce military journalism reaching millions of readers each month. He also founded and edits [Duffel Blog](), a popular satirical newsletter for the military. Before becoming a journalist in 2013, he served as a Marine infantryman in Afghanistan, Korea, and other areas of the Pacific. His eyes still go up every time a helicopter from Camp Pendleton flies over his office in Southern California. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [LinkedIn]() [Facebook]() [Instagram]()