The greatest scandal in American history, now demanding investigation
Cinco años después de su derrota electoral, Donald Trump ha vuelto a invocar el fantasma del fraude en 2020, exigiendo una investigación del Departamento de Justicia en un momento en que California celebra elecciones estatales y millones de votos por correo circulan por el país. La historia observa cómo las narrativas de legitimidad electoral, una vez puestas en duda, no se disuelven fácilmente: persisten, se reinventan y encuentran nuevos escenarios donde aterrizar. Lo que Trump llama el mayor escándalo de la historia americana sigue siendo, para tribunales, funcionarios electorales y sus propios expertos en ciberseguridad, una afirmación sin sustento probatorio.
- Trump relanzó en octubre de 2025 sus acusaciones de fraude en las elecciones de 2020, calificándolas de 'amañadas y robadas' y exigiendo una investigación federal de gran escala.
- La chispa inmediata fue California: con elecciones legislativas estatales el 4 de noviembre, Trump alertó a los republicanos sobre el voto por correo y el gobierno desplegó observadores del DOJ en seis condados.
- Cuando los primeros sobres comenzaron a llegar el 25 de octubre, Trump escaló su retórica, sugiriendo que el fraude ya estaba en marcha y trazando una línea directa hacia lo ocurrido en 2020.
- El verdadero objetivo de sus declaraciones apunta más lejos: advertir que, sin intervención federal contundente, las elecciones de medio término de 2026 —con el control del Congreso en juego— podrían repetir el mismo patrón.
- Las afirmaciones de Trump han sido rechazadas sistemáticamente por cortes judiciales, funcionarios electorales de ambos partidos y sus propios asesores de seguridad, pero siguen siendo el eje central de su narrativa política.
Donald Trump retomó en octubre de 2025 sus acusaciones sobre las elecciones presidenciales de 2020, exigiendo que el Departamento de Justicia investigue lo que describió como el mayor escándalo de la historia de Estados Unidos. Según Trump, el fraude que habría costado su reelección no solo sigue impune, sino que sus consecuencias han transformado negativamente al país.
El detonante inmediato fue California, donde el 4 de noviembre se celebran elecciones para renovar la legislatura estatal. Trump utilizó su plataforma Truth Social para advertir a los republicanos sobre los riesgos del voto por correo, señalando que millones de boletas estaban siendo distribuidas. La administración ya había desplegado observadores del DOJ en seis condados del estado, en un gesto que mezcla vigilancia institucional con presión política.
Cuando los primeros votos por correo comenzaron a llegar el 25 de octubre, Trump intensificó su discurso, insinuando que el fraude ya estaba ocurriendo y usando el momento para regresar al argumento central: que las mismas vulnerabilidades que, según él, comprometieron 2020 permanecen sin corregir. California, gobernada por Gavin Newsom —adversario frecuente de Trump en materia migratoria—, se convirtió así en el escenario de una disputa más amplia sobre la integridad electoral.
La advertencia final de Trump apuntó hacia 2026: si el DOJ no actúa con la contundencia que el caso exige, el fraude podría repetirse en las elecciones de medio término, cuando se decidirá el control de la Cámara de Representantes y el Senado. Son afirmaciones que tribunales, funcionarios de ambos partidos y expertos en ciberseguridad de su propia administración han desestimado en repetidas ocasiones, pero que Trump mantiene como columna vertebral de su relato político.
Donald Trump has returned to his longstanding assertion that the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden, was fundamentally compromised by fraud. Speaking publicly in late October 2025, he demanded that the Department of Justice launch a full investigation into what he characterized as the greatest scandal in American history, one whose consequences he said have reshaped the nation for the worse.
The renewed claims emerged amid the California state elections scheduled for November 4, which will determine the composition of the state legislature. Trump has alleged that the mail-in voting process in California represents a vulnerability to manipulation, and he used his Truth Social platform to warn Republicans to remain vigilant. "Look at how dishonest California's voting proposal is," he wrote, noting that millions of ballots were being distributed. "Republicans, pay attention, before it's too late." The Trump administration had already positioned Department of Justice observers in six California counties, ostensibly to monitor the election for irregularities and ensure ballot security.
When mail-in ballots began arriving on October 25, Trump's tone shifted sharply toward alarm. He suggested that fraud was already underway in the state elections and used the moment to pivot back to 2020, arguing that the same vulnerabilities that he claims compromised that election remain unaddressed. He characterized Biden's presidency as the consequence of a stolen election, describing the former president in harsh terms and asserting that the American public now understands what occurred.
The timing of Trump's statements is significant. California is governed by Gavin Newsom, with whom Trump has clashed repeatedly over immigration policy and deportations. The state has become a focal point for Trump's election security concerns, real or perceived. But his immediate grievance about California's mail-in voting system served as a springboard for his larger argument: that 2020 was stolen, that the consequences have been catastrophic, and that without intervention, the same outcome could occur in the 2026 midterm elections, when control of the House and Senate will be decided.
Trump's demand to the Department of Justice was explicit. He called for an investigation conducted with the same intensity that the scale of the alleged crime deserves. He warned that if the department failed to act with sufficient vigor, fraud would recur, including in the 2026 midterms. The statement represents a continuation of claims that have animated Trump's political messaging since his 2020 loss, claims that have been examined and rejected by courts, election officials from both parties, and his own administration's cybersecurity experts. Yet Trump has persisted in making them, and they remain central to his political narrative and his framing of recent American history.
Notable Quotes
The rigged and stolen 2020 presidential elections are a much bigger scandal. Look what happened to our country when a corrupt fool became president. Now we know everything.— Donald Trump
I hope the Department of Justice investigates this with the same enthusiasm that the greatest scandal in the history of the United States deserves. If not, it will happen again, including in the next midterm elections.— Donald Trump
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why is Trump bringing up 2020 again now, in October 2025? That election is five years old.
Because California's mail-in voting process gave him a concrete hook. When ballots started arriving, he could point to something happening in real time and say, "This is how it happened before."
But courts have examined 2020 extensively. Why does he keep making the same claim?
Because the claim serves a purpose for him politically. It explains his loss without requiring him to accept it. And it energizes his base, who believe the election was stolen.
He's asking the DOJ to investigate. Can they actually reopen a five-year-old election?
Technically, yes. But there's no new evidence. The DOJ under his own administration looked at this in 2020 and found no fraud that would have changed the outcome. What's changed is that Trump is now president again, so he has the power to direct the department to do what he wants.
What does he gain from warning about 2026?
He's laying groundwork. If Republicans lose in 2026, he can say the election was stolen. If they win, he can claim his warnings worked. Either way, the narrative stays under his control.
Is there actual evidence of fraud in California's mail-in voting?
Not that's been presented. The observers he deployed to six counties are there to look for it, but the fact that ballots arrived doesn't mean fraud occurred. Mail-in voting has been used for decades with security measures in place.
So what's really happening here?
A former president who lost an election is using his current power to relitigate it, and to preemptively delegitimize future elections if they don't go his way. It's a political strategy dressed up as an election security concern.