Trump defends voting by mail in Florida while pushing restrictions

President Donald Trump confirmed he voted by mail in Florida’s special election on Tuesday, but the media pivoted from the point of attack, noting that his mail-in ballot reform agenda includes “exceptions” and not just because he has the privilege of being president.

“Yes, I did,” Trump responded to a reporter Thursday at his second Cabinet meeting in 2026. “You know what? Because I’m the president of the United States.”

“And since I’m president of the United States, I voted by mail for the election in Florida because I felt like I needed to be here instead of out in the beautiful sunshine.”

The reporter noted that Trump was at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, ahead of Tuesday’s Palm Beach County elections for state senator and state representative.

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“That’s right, I decided to vote by mail because I couldn’t be there,” Trump said, adding, “I’ve been through a lot of different things.”

Trump was at Mar-a-Lago for the weekend in Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday for a forum on crime, and then is back in Washington, D.C., for the rest of the week, including giving a speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday night.

Still, Trump proudly reminded the reporter: While he voted by mail, he wasn’t hypocritical about denouncing mail-in ballot fraud.

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“You know, we have exceptions for mail-in ballots,” Trump said. “You know that, right? So if you’re away, you have an exception. If you’re in the military, we have an exception. If you’re on a business trip, we have an exception. If you’re disabled, we have an exception. And if you’re sick, if you’re not feeling well.

“So I was mostly in Washington, D.C., so I used a mail-in ballot.”

During his Memphis stop, Trump blasted voting by mail as “mail cheating.”

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“This is what I call mail fraud, and we have to do something about it,” Trump said. “And that’s part of Homeland Security.”

Trump said Sunday that his fellow Republicans should not reach an agreement on funding for the Department of Homeland Security until Democrats in Congress pass a bill (the SAVE America Act) that would require people to register to vote to provide proof of U.S. citizenship.

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Trump also sought Democratic approval for other items he wants added to the bill, including banning transgender women from women’s sports, banning “transgender mutilation of our children” and restricting mail-in voting except in cases of illness, disability, military service or travel.

“As President Trump has said, the SAVE America Act has commonsense exceptions for Americans to vote by mail for illness, disability, military or travel, but universal mail-in voting should not be allowed because it is highly susceptible to fraud,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales wrote in an email earlier this week.

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It wasn’t the first time Trump voted by mail. He did not vote in the 2018 midterm elections, a White House spokesman said at the time. Trump had requested an absentee ballot but decided to vote in person in 2020.

Reuters contributed to this report.