'Hypocrite, liar, fraud': Hawaii Senator slams Trump over mail-in vote

United States President Donald Trump is vocal with his opinions on most matters, and one among them has been his claims of election rigging and dislike for mail-in ballots. It was no surprise that reports of him casting a mail-in ballot for the special election in Florida's House District 87 have led many to question his stance on the voting procedure. Among them, Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono called Trump "a hypocrite, liar, and a fraud."  Taking to social media, Hirono wrote, "So he's allowed to vote by mail, but when you do it, it's cheating...Got it. What a hypocrite, liar, and a fraud." Along with her post, Hirono shared a New York Times report that claimed the President used the mail-in ballot method to vote in the special election.

Democrats flipped Florida's House District 87, which houses Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, with first-time candidate Emily Gregory. She defeated Republican candidate Jon Maples, who had "complete and total endorsement" of the President, by securing 51.2% of the vote. "Floridians have made it clear they want real action on the affordability crisis, and while Republicans have ignored them," Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said of the win. The President's niece and long-term critic, Mary Trump, also lauded the win. “The Democrats just flipped a state house seat in the district where Donald committed voter fraud by casting his ballot illegally by mail,” she wrote in a post on X.

For Republicans, the election setback comes at a time when President Trump's approval ratings are dropping sharply, and his administration is in the middle of several contentious developments, including a partial government shutdown, an escalating conflict in the Middle East, and a major court setback on his tariff policies. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday showed that 36% of Americans approve of Trump’s ‌job performance, down from 40% in a similar poll conducted last week.

Trump has been actively trying to ban mail-in ballots ahead of the midterm elections later this year. It is one of his key agendas with the SAVE America Act. "The SAVE America Act has common-sense exceptions for Americans to use mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military, or travel—but universal mail-in voting should not be allowed," a White House statement said as per the New York Times report. Trump has claimed that the mail-in ballot system leads to cheating. "Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating," he has said. "I call it mail-in cheating, and we've got to do something about it all." It is still unclear whether mail-in ballots will be legal for the midterms, but if they are not, thousands of voters will be affected.