Voters dont like Donald Trump , and he knows it. Faced with historically low approval in an election year, hes doing everything he can to make sure voters dont vote.

Trumps biggest obstacle in pursuit of reelection this fall is his deep unpopularity. According to FiveThirtyEight , Trumps bad approval rating makes him the most unpopular president running for reelection since Gerald Ford, who lost his bid more than 40 years ago; and his only advantage in dealing with this widespread unpopularity might be his familiarity with it. In 2016, 3 million more Americans cast ballots for Hillary Clinton than for Donald Trump. But a narrow Electoral College victory aided by Russian voter suppression efforts and laws restricting access to the vote charted an illiberal path for Trump to win the White House without actually having to win more votes.

Over the past four years, Trump has been impeached, his administration has mishandled multiple disaster relief efforts including the coronavirus pandemic he ignited multiple human rights crises along the U.S.-Mexico border, he has enriched his failing businesses using tax dollars, and he is currently presiding over rapid job losses and widespread evictions across the country.

These are the markings of an unpopular president, and they are the reasons Trump is trying to ensure as few people as possible have their votes counted in November.