Kristina Karamo: Twitter was hacked; Trump isn’t returning soon to White House

• The secretary of state candidate’s Twitter account shared, then deleted a link claiming Trump won the 2020 election
• Kristina Karamo says any suggestion she supports the claims in the post is ‘nonsense’
• She became the Republican favorite for office by claiming voter fraud

COMMERCE TOWNSHIP — Republican Secretary of State hopeful Kristina Karamo says her Twitter account was “hacked” Wednesday after the account shared and later deleted a post falsely claiming that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election and will soon return to the White House.

On Wednesday afternoon, Karamo’s Twitter account shared a link to a post on the Trump-linked social media platform Truth Social that falsely claimed the former president won over President Joe Biden and would “be back in the White House before the end of this year.”

“The justice against the enemies of America we have been waiting for will be swift and permanent,” the Truth Social post read.

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“Get your popcorn, beer and pop now while you can still get it, and when Trump is back sit back and enjoy the show. Nothing can stop what is coming.”

The post was deleted, and Karamo’s account said it had been “hacked.” Asked by Bridge Michigan if she denied the claims made in the post, Karamo said, “absolutely,” calling them “nonsense” and noting she didn’t want to repeat them because they shouldn’t “fester.”

Karamo, who is a favorite of Trump and has claimed the 2020 election was fraudulent, did not elaborate on whether she believed all or some of the claims in the tweet are nonsense.

Trump’s return to the presidency during Biden’s term has been a conspiracy theory among some far-right conservatives since last year, when supporters including attorney Sidney Powell have claimed the Supreme Court would reinstate him.

Karamo said she was made aware of the post after a reporter contacted her team about it. 

“I looked on my Twitter and I saw a tweet within the hour, and I hadn't posted on Twitter all day, so that showed me that my Twitter had been hacked,” she said, later adding that her team would take additional measures “to make sure that all my social media accounts are secure.”

Karamo is the presumptive GOP candidate to challenge incumbent Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, in November. Karamo won endorsement from party delegates in April after securing support in the race from Trump.

The Oak Park community college instructor skyrocketed to fame in conservative circles after claiming she witnessed fraud at Detroit’s absentee counting board while working as a poll challenger in November 2020.

She testified before a state Senate committee about her experience — the panel later reported finding no evidence of widespread fraud — and made several media appearances spreading the claims. 

As a candidate, Karamo has frequently called for a “forensic audit” of the 2020 election and called election integrity a “national security issue.”

Biden won Michigan by 154,188 votes, an official tally certified by local, state and national officials despite Trump's unsupported insistence the election was "rigged."

Karamo addressed the Twitter post following a press event in Commerce Township, where she outlined her concerns with the Promote the Vote ballot initiative, which would amend the state constitution to allow nine days of early voting, allow voters to register for absentee ballots for all future elections and other voting reform measures. 

Karamo suggested the measure is an “assault on our voting rights,” arguing that allowing a lifetime absentee ballot application would compromise election security and that in-person early voting would place additional burden on and strain the resources of local clerks.

Supporters of the initiative say the measure offers flexibility for voters to cast their ballots, make elections more accessible and ensure election security while protecting voter privacy. 

Also on Wednesday, Karamo said Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel should be impeached for “indirectly” threatening her with a felony. Karamo showed a video clip in which 

Nessel said disseminating misinformation that deters people from voting is a felony.

Nessel is up for re-election in November. Her campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment from Bridge.