Colorado official: Trump ‘taking cues about democracy’ from Putin

Desmond Milligan · August 19

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) said Tuesday that President Trump is “taking cues about democracy” from Russian President Vladimir Putin after Trump announced Monday he was planning to sign an executive order to get rid of mail-in ballots.

“Look, mail ballots are secure,” Griswold said on “CNN News Central.” “They cannot be hacked because they’re a piece of paper. That is increasingly more important as Trump has made our elections less secure since taking office again.”

“He’s disbanded much of the federal government’s work on countering foreign disinformation and is obviously taking cues about democracy from a dictator, Putin,” she added in an interview with CNN’s Kate Bolduan. “And more than that, Kate, Trump himself knows that mail ballots are safe.”

Her comments come just five days after Trump met with his Russian counterpart in Alaska about the over three-year war in Ukraine.

The Colorado official’s remarks also follow a Monday Truth Social post in which Trump reemphasized his long-standing distaste of mail-in voting, saying other countries have dropped the practice “because of the MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD ENCOUNTERED.”

“I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we’re at it, Highly ‘Inaccurate,’ Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election,” Trump wrote.

“WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT, WHICH WILL BE STRONGLY OPPOSED BY THE DEMOCRATS BECAUSE THEY CHEAT AT LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE, by signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections,” the president added.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

In Colorado, all voters automatically receive a mail-in ballot. Voters also have the option to vote in person instead.

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