The Poynter Institute Menu Donate State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin Issues * All Issues * Online hoaxes * Coronavirus * Health Care * Immigration * Extremism * Taxes * Marijuana * Environment * Crime * Guns * Foreign Policy * LGBTQ+ People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis Media * PunditFact * Tucker Carlson * Sean Hannity * Rachel Maddow * Bloggers * PolitiFact Videos Campaigns * 2024 Elections Truth-o-Meter * True * Mostly True * Half True * Mostly False * False * Pants on Fire Promises * Biden Promise Tracker * Trump-O-Meter * Obameter * Latest Promises About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Suggest a Fact-check * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters Donate #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up English Español ### Stand up for the facts! Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on April 1, 2024 in Radio interview: In 2020, Trump “did much better” in the Wisconsin election than 2016, and “after the wrongdoing was found, people said, ‘Well, he actually did win.’” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"pants- fire\\"](\\" * Elections * Wisconsin * Donald Trump ![\\"President](\\" President Donald Trump waves after speaking April 27. 2019, at a rally at Resch Center Complex in Green Bay, Wis. (AP) By Hope Karnopp April 1, 2024 # Ahead of first 2024 rally in Wisconsin, Trump repeats false claims that he won the state in 2020 #### If Your Time is short * Former President Donald Trump claimed he performed better in 2020 than 2016 in Wisconsin. He won the state in 2016 but lost in 2020. * Recounts and reviews upheld Biden’s victory and found there was no widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. * PolitiFact Wisconsin has debunked these claims before, and we’ll continue doing so as Trump repeats them in this cycle. See the sources for this fact-check Former President Donald Trump repeated familiar false claims ahead of his first visit to Wisconsin this campaign cycle: that he actually won the state in 2020 and there was widespread voter fraud. On April 1, 2024 — a day before Wisconsin’s presidential primary and Trump’s first 2024 rally in the state — Trump appeared on WISN-AM’s Dan O’Donnell show. Trump incorrectly said he won Wisconsin in 2020. He did win the state in 2016, but lost in 2020. \"We had a reelection the second time. We actually did much better than the first time. We won in Wisconsin, as you know, the first time. The second time we did much better,\" Trump said. Trump also falsely claimed that he won after \"wrongdoing\" was discovered in the 2020 election. \"But I guess it was delayed,\" Trump continued. \"They found out a lot of wrongdoing. And after the wrongdoing was found, people said, ‘Well, he actually did win.’\" O’Donnell, a conservative talk radio host, did not push back on Trump’s false claims that he won the state in 2020 or that there was wrongdoing in the presidential election. PolitiFact Wisconsin has checked these claims before. But ahead of Trump’s rally in Green Bay let’s take a trip down memory lane. Trump did not win Wisconsin in 2020, though he did win the state in 2016 Let’s tackle the first part of Trump’s claim: That he performed better in Wisconsin in 2020 than he did in 2016. That is unequivocally false. And it’s something PolitiFact Wisconsin has checked on multiple occasions, including in 2021. We noted then, and we’ll repeat here, that President Joe Biden won Wisconsin in 2020. Biden took 1,630,866 votes compared to Trump’s 1,610,184 in the state, so Trump lost by 20,682 votes. Trump did win the state in 2016, taking more than 22,000 votes over Democrat Hillary Clinton. He netted 1,405,284 votes in Wisconsin in 2016. So, although Trump picked up more raw votes in 2020, his performance was not better because he ultimately lost by about 20,000 votes. PolitiFact Wisconsin reached out to Trump’s campaign for backup but did not hear back by deadline. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on August 14, 2024 in a post Photo from an Aug. 14 campaign event in Michigan shows “JD Vance couldn’t fill a small room.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Sara Swann • August 15, 2024 Bottom line: Trump did not win Wisconsin in 2020. PolitiFact Wisconsin has repeatedly rated that claim Pants on Fire. Recounts affirmed Biden’s victory, no widespread fraud or wrongdoing In the second part of Trump’s claim, he says that he won after \"a lot of wrongdoing\" was discovered. Let’s look back again. In 2020, PolitiFact Wisconsin explained that recounts Trump requested upheld Biden’s victory. The net pickup for Biden was 74 votes in the heavily Democratic Milwaukee and Dane counties. So, Trump actually fell further behind. So, again, recounts affirmed that Biden won the election. PolitiFact Wisconsin has also debunked several claims that there was \"wrongdoing\" or pervasive voter fraud. That includes clarifying that late returns for Biden were because of how Milwaukee counts its absentee ballots, not fraud. We’ve also debunked his claim that absentee ballots were being dumped in rivers or creeks. On top of that, a probe led by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman — who has aligned with Trump and promoted his false claims — turned up no evidence the election was incorrectly called. The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty also found no evidence of widespread fraud. State auditors also found voting machines worked properly. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Even reviews led by conservatives found no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. PolitiFact Wisconsin found false Trump’s claims of pervasive \"wrongdoing\" many times before, and the same applies here. Our ruling In a radio interview, Trump repeated familiar false refrains. That is, that he won Wisconsin in 2020 and \"after the wrongdoing was found, people said, ‘Well, he actually did win.’\" Biden won the state in 2020. Recounts actually expanded Biden’s margin, and multiple reviews — including by conservatives — found there was no widespread voter fraud. PolitiFact Wisconsin has checked these claims before, and we’ll continue doing so if Trump airs them as he hits the ground in Wisconsin ahead of November. We’ve given a Pants on Fire rating for similar Trump claims in the past, and we do the same again here. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources PolitiFact Wisconsin, Déjà vu all over again as former President Trump wrongly claims Wisconsin victory, July 6, 2021. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2020 Wisconsin President Election Results, Dec. 2, 2020. New York Times, Wisconsin Presidential Race Results: Donald J. Trump Wins, Aug. 1, 2017. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Recount confirms Trump’s victory in Wisconsin, Dec. 12, 2016. PolitiFact Wisconsin, 9 key fact-checks about the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin, Jan. 4, 2021. PolitiFact Wisconsin, Recount finds Trump did not win Wisconsin, despite his victory claim, Dec. 9, 2020. PolitiFact Wisconsin, Trump again flat wrong with claims about Wisconsin voter fraud, Nov. 20, 2020. PolitiFact Wisconsin, Trump whiffs describing Wisconsin ballot case, Oct. 9, 2020. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, \'An incompetent circus\': Michael Gableman\'s 2020 election review reaches 1 year and the $1 million mark with little to show, Jan. 16, 2023. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Conservative group finds no signs of widespread voter fraud in Wisconsin but urges changes to election processes, Dec. 7, 2021. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Auditors find voting machines work properly, say election officials should adopt formal rules on drop boxes, Jan. 7, 2022 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Hope Karnopp ![](\\" new/e5f81dc43ebbfab7c9d9b56cfba2f398.jpg\\") ![](\\" new/9fbc38bd9f4148c4e7374ecdd8d95da4.jpg\\") Tammy Baldwin stated on July 23, 2024 in Public appearance: Eric Hovde “wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and kick millions off their health insurance.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Hope Karnopp • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on July 8, 2024 in X, formerly Twitter: “Deadlines have passed in … Wisconsin” to replace President Joe Biden on the ballot. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Hope Karnopp • July 11, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tony Evers stated on June 11, 2024 in X, formerly Twitter: Wisconsin had a “record-breaking year” for tourism in 2023. ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Hope Karnopp • June 28, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on June 18, 2024 in Public appearance: Says he “saved Kenosha” and the “governor wouldn’t move” on sending the National Guard. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Hope Karnopp • June 21, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee stated on June 5, 2024 in News release: Republican legislatures “have targeted birth control” and in Wisconsin “refused to schedule a vote on a bill that would have codified a right to birth control.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Hope Karnopp • June 14, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ron Johnson stated on May 19, 2024 in TV interview: Says in his three election campaigns, the early polls were \"wildly incorrect, all three times.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Hope Karnopp • June 5, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Greta Neubauer stated on April 11, 2024 in X, formerly Twitter: “The GOP has failed to invest in our campuses, making WI fall to 42nd in the nation in state support.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Hope Karnopp • April 24, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Derrick Van Orden stated on April 1, 2024 in X, formerly Twitter: You can vote in-person absentee at your clerk’s office on Monday before Election Day. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Hope Karnopp • April 1, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on April 1, 2024 in Radio interview: In 2020, Trump “did much better” in the Wisconsin election than 2016, and “after the wrongdoing was found, people said, ‘Well, he actually did win.’” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Hope Karnopp • April 1, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Sarah Godlewski stated on March 3, 2024 in Public appearance: “When it comes to how many votes (President) Joe Biden won, it was literally less than a few votes per ward.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Hope Karnopp • March 28, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Eric Hovde stated on March 4, 2024 in Campaign video: “Since the end of the 2020 fiscal year, President Biden and Senator Baldwin have added over $7.3 trillion of debt, more than the first 228 years of our nation’s history combined.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Hope Karnopp • March 14, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Voto Latino . stated on February 29, 2024 in Social media ads: \"There are less than two weeks until the deadline to register to vote in Wisconsin.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Hope Karnopp • March 5, 2024 ![](\\" headshot/90a69ca44be8c15dc546b359802ea4a7.jpg\\") ![](\\" headshot/183842b4d1d5131e1188dd41101a7ee0.jpg\\") Bryan Steil stated on February 1, 2024 in X, formerly Twitter: “Bidenomics is costing the typical American household over $11,400 more a year to buy the basics.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Hope Karnopp • February 21, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Scott Walker stated on January 21, 2024 in TV interview: \"(The) top issue for college students is the economy.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Hope Karnopp • February 2, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on January 22, 2024 in Speech: \"After Roe was dismantled, extremists evoked a law from 1849 to stop abortion” in Wisconsin. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Hope Karnopp • January 23, 2024 ### Ahead of first 2024 rally in Wisconsin, Trump repeats false claims that he won the state in 2020 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 8, 2024 in a Threads post: “Elon Musk is going to expose Bill Gates soon, says ‘he’s evil.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 6, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Gordon Ramsay calls Tim Walz a ‘woke creep,’ throws him out of Hell’s Kitchen.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: \"ÚLTIMA HORA Río Nilo se pinta de rojo sangre\". ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Marta Campabadal Graus • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 7, 2024 in a Threads post: Photo shows Elton John wearing a “MAGA” jacket. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a photo: The Minnesota Vikings have denounced Tim Walz: “We don’t suppᴏrt his values.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 8, 2024 in Instagram posts: Immigrants get $2,000 each time they cross the border illegally. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on August 30, 2024 in a Facebook post: Video shows tornadoes in Canada. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 8, 2024 in an Instagram post: Video shows a Ku Klux Klan member at a rally for former President Donald Trump. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 7, 2024 in a Threads post: Elon Musk said, “Anyone caught promoting propaganda will be suspended from X.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 12, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 9, 2024 in Instagram posts: A Haitian woman was arrested in Springfield, Ohio, for eating a cat. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 12, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. Sign me up #### Offices District of Columbia 1800 I Street NW Washington, DC 20006 Florida 801 3rd St. S St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-821-9494 #### People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis #### State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin #### About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters #### RSS Feeds * Recent Articles and Fact-checks * Recent Fact-checks Suggest a Fact-check #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Copyright ©All Rights Reserved Poynter Institute 2020, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ![\\"\\"](\\" ✕ * * *
In 2020 Trump did much better in the Wisconsin election than 2016 and after the wrongdoing was found people said Well he actually did win’