President Donald Trump on Wednesday repeated what may be his most easily debunked lie: that he would have won California if not for the state being “crooked.”

“California’s a very crooked election system, and if we had an honest election, Republicans would win. I would have won,” he said. “I got millions of votes, but I would have won California if that were an honest system, I would have won.”

Trump has made this claim before and has repeated it many times, but it’s still not even close to true.

“This remains one of the president’s most ludicrous lies,” CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale wrote on X. “He lost California by 30 points in 2016 (more than 4 million votes), 29 points in 2020 (more than 5 million votes), and 20 points in 2024 (more than 3 million votes).”

No Republican has won a major statewide election in California since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2006 gubernatorial victory, and no Republican presidential candidate has won the Golden State since George H.W. Bush in 1988. Yet Trump claims there’s a big anti-Republican, anti-Trump conspiracy because of the state’s widespread use of mail-in ballots. He has frequently slammed the practice, even though he often votes by mail himself.

Critics hit back at the president on X:

The lies are somehow getting lazier https://t.co/SyT0HUhgeS

Hard to put in to words how batshit crazy this.. All you supporters of this really need to check yourselves.  What are you?

but in fact, the entire federal government is run by Republicans.  since T***p is the president, presumably he thinks that he did win.  why does he say such things, admitting that the elections that Republicans have won are "very crooked?" https://t.co/N7jeUcj6Iz

A pretty simple mantra....If they win, it was fair and the people have spoken.  If they lose, it was rigged etc.....

So if a republican wins it was an honest electionIf a democrat wins then there was fraudIt is obvious that the president does not agree with anything that does not put him in the winning position  But he forgets the people of California make their choices based on the facts…

drivelling, senile felon. https://t.co/fBamearugO

An actual honest system means someone like this nutsack would be in prison tho https://t.co/Tg04QA7vKi

He just can't fathom that not everyone likes him.

pic.twitter.com/qKLX79v0Or

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