Trump called swing state Nevada 'disgraceful' in an interview with a Nevada publication
AP Photo/John Locher
- Ex-President Trump described Nevada as a "disgraceful" state during a recent interview in Las Vegas.
- Trump told The Nevada Globe that he won Nevada in 2016 and 2020, despite losing the state both times.
- He also railed against former state AG Adam Laxalt, who is backing Ron DeSantis' 2024 WH campaign.
Former President Donald Trump in an interview with a Nevada publication last week blasted the swing state as "disgraceful" even while contending — despite wins by his Democratic presidential opponents — that he was the true victor of the state in the 2016 and 2020 elections.
"I think I won the last time. I think I won both times by a lot," he told the publication. "This is a state that is disgraceful."
During a sit-down with The Nevada Globe, Trump went through his list of political foes which included President Joe Biden and Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, while also railing against Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida — a onetime ally who is now challenging the him for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
But when Trump was asked how he could flip Nevada — a state that has not backed a Republican presidential nominee since then-President George W. Bush in 2004 — the former president falsely said he won the state in the last two general election contests.
Trump then said that the vote was "robbed" without providing any evidence to support his claims.
In 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won Nevada by 2.42 percentage points over Trump and Biden secured the state by 2.39 percentage points in the 2020 contest, fueled by key victories in populous Clark County and Washoe County.
Trump then castigated former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, a onetime Trump campaign chairman who lost last year's high-profile US Senate race to Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and is now supporting DeSantis' 2024 presidential bid.
Last month, Laxalt said he didn't "see a path" for Trump to win Nevada in next year's presidential election should he become the Republican nominee.
"You know, we have guys like Laxalt. Laxalt was a very weak candidate. He was pathetic," Trump told the publication about the politician he once endorsed. "I helped Laxalt do the best he could.
The former president then compared Laxalt unfavorably to the late Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico, the former attorney general's father, and the late Sen. Paul Laxalt of Nevada, who was Laxalt's grandfather.
"I helped Laxalt do the best he could. I guess his grandfather was strong. His father was good. But, I guess the chain got weaker and weaker," he said of the former attorney general.