Sen. Amy Klobuchar said the Trump administration worked to block legislation she sponsored designed to make elections more secure. | Paul Sancya/AP Photo 2020 Elections Klobuchar: Trump not interested in election security

Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar said Sunday that President Donald Trump has no incentive to make sure that American elections are secure and uncompromised.

“We have ample evidence that he has not been responding to protect our election security,” the Minnesota Democrat said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And you know what Russia may have done? They didn't use a tank, they didn't use a missile, but they used a computer, and they invaded our democracy all the same.“


Klobuchar said the Trump administration, complaining of meddling in the democratic process, worked to block legislation she co-sponsored with Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) designed to make elections more secure. The legislation would have required, among other things, that paper ballots be used as a backup in case something is amiss.

“Meddling is what my — I do when I call my daughter on a Saturday night. This was actually an invasion of our democracy, OK? This isn't asking your kid, 'Oh, what are you doing tonight?' This is an invasion of our democracy,” Klobuchar told host Jake Tapper.

Klobuchar said the president is not taking the threat to American democracy seriously: “He goes and coddles up to Vladimir Putin again, has a little nice talk with him and never even brings this up, according to his own press secretary. That is wrong. And he then makes it worse by calling it a hoax.”

The Minnesota Democrat was elaborating on remarks that suggested the president was motivated by an urge to guarantee his own reelection. Last week, she told CNN’s Chris Cuomo, "We have another presidential election coming up, and this president has every reason not to protect that election.”

