Fox News Blasts Graham, Trump Jr. For Baselessly Suggesting Iowa Caucuses Are “Rigged”

With final Iowa caucus results delayed as the state’s Democratic party performs “quality control” and addresses “inconsistencies,” President Donald Trump’s adult sons and campaign added to the chaos by making evidence-free claims that the Iowa caucuses were “rigged.”

Brad Parscale, President Donald Trump’s campaign manager, took to Twitter Monday night to speculate that “quality control” really meant “rigged.”

Trump's campaign manager already questioning election integrity before the first state's votes are released in a 2020 Democratic primary or caucus. pic.twitter.com/so2uiIjNlV

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) February 4, 2020

Donald Trump Jr. baselessly claimed that the Democratic National Committee was rigging the election against Sen. Bernie Sanders,” tweeting: “And by ‘Quality Control’ they mean fixing the results to get the candidate the Democrat Overlords in DC want.”

And by “Quality Control” they mean fixing the results to get the candidate the Democrat Overlords in DC want. https://t.co/EkIztYHYuN

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 4, 2020

Eric Trump tweeted: “Mark my words, they are rigging this thing… what a mess. This is why people don’t want the #Dems running our county.”

Mark my words, they are rigging this thing… what a mess. This is why people don’t want the #Dems running our county. #meltdown

— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) February 4, 2020

GOP. Sen. Lindsey Graham also added fuel to the fire by suggesting the entire process was rigged to cover-up “a Bernie blowout and a Biden crash?”

Conspiracy theories are going completely mainstream in the GOP. Spreading them doesn't serve either party in the long run. https://t.co/OUju84IHRf

— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) February 4, 2020

Without evidence, top Trump campaign officials — including sons @EricTrump & @DonaldJTrumpJr — are sowing distrust in the democratic process, suggesting the Democratic Iowa caucuses are “rigged.” pic.twitter.com/AlpFJTZYxw

— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) February 4, 2020

Chris Anderson, a member of the Fox News decision desk, ripped Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale’s suggestion that Monday night’s contest in Iowa was “rigged.”

“That’s slightly more ridiculous than the outcome of the caucuses last night — which is just a travesty,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t rigged, there’s no way around that. This is a total diminishment of the Iowa caucuses, even if they do put their results out.

Anderson’s certainty that the caucus was on the level is rooted in his belief that no one stands to gain from the delayed results.

“If something is rigged, it benefits the people that rigged it,” Anderson said. “And this is the absolute worst outcome for the Iowa Democratic party.”

Fox News' decision desk guy tears into Brad Parscale for 'rigged' claims

Decision desk guy: "One thing that we can say with a whole lot of confidence is this was not rigged. … [Parscale's claim] is slightly more ridiculous than the outcome of the caucuses last night." pic.twitter.com/N22KVyFXke

— Lis Power (@LisPower1) February 4, 2020

For its part, Sanders’ campaign said earlier Monday that the election is “not currently rigged.”

The Iowa Democratic Party says they plan to issue the final Iowa caucus results by 5 p.m. EST.