Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Blasts Biden for Criticizing Election Integrity Bill: ‘I Bet He Doesn’t Have a Clue What’s in There’

AUSTIN, TX - MAY 18: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Texas Governor Greg Abbott announces the reopeni
Lynda M. Gonzalez-Pool/Getty Images

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) sharply criticized President Joe Biden for mischaracterizing Republican legislative efforts to prioritize election integrity, telling the Dallas Morning News that he suspects Biden “doesn’t have a clue” what is in the Lone Star State’s legislation.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Biden criticized the Senate bill without even having ever read it,” Abbott told the outlet Tuesday. “I bet he doesn’t have a clue what’s in there.”

Abbott’s remarks followed Biden’s speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the 78-year-old president criticized election integrity efforts across the country.

“This sacred right is under assault with incredible intensity like I’ve never seen,” Biden said, adding, “It’s simply un-American. It’s not, however, sadly, unprecedented.”

“In 2020, we faced a tireless assault on the right to vote: restrictive laws, lawsuits, threats of intimidation, voter purges, and more. We resolved to overcome it all, and we did,” he continued, promising to ramp up efforts to “overcome again” and tapping Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the effort.

“This is, of course, the same person who reacted swiftly, calling me a Neanderthal for opening things up, and he proved to be 100 percent wrong about that,” Abbott continued, responding to Biden’s sweeping remarks. “He’s going to be proven to be 100 percent wrong about this.”

”One of the primary things that we sought to achieve was to address flaws, as well as the possibility for cheating in mail-in ballots,” Abbott continued, comparing Texas to Biden’s home state of Delaware.

“The voter law in the state of Texas is far more accommodative and provides far more hours to vote than it does in President Biden’s home state of Delaware, where he voted in the last election, where they offer exactly zero early voting days,” the Texas governor said.

“If there’s any voter suppression taking place, the easier allegation is say that voter suppression has taken place in Delaware, not Texas,” he added.

Texas Democrats blocked the state’s election integrity measure on Sunday night right before the midnight deadline. House Democrats opted to walk out of the floor of the chamber, leaving Republicans without a quorum to vote on Senate Bill 7.

The bill takes a number of actions, expanding the freedoms of poll watchers, creating new voter ID requirements, and cracking down on voting by mail.

While Abbott called the bill’s failure “deeply disappointing and concerning,” he insisted it would be on the special session agenda.

“I declared Election Integrity and Bail Reform to be must-pass emergency items for this legislative session. It is deeply disappointing and concerning for Texans that neither will reach my desk,” he said in a statement at the time.

“Ensuring the integrity of our elections and reforming a broken bail system remain emergencies in Texas,” he added. “They will be added to the special session agenda. Legislators will be expected to have worked out the details when they arrive at the Capitol for the special session.”

Notably, former President Donald Trump endorsed Abbott for reelection on Tuesday, calling him a “fighter and a Great Governor for the incredible people of Texas.”

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.