Donald Trump has become the laughingstock of Twitter for peeking at the ballot his wife, Melania, was filling out.
Earlier this morning, the GOP nominee and his wife went to their polling location to cast their ballots as crowds gathering booed them. During the actual voting process, Donald and Melania Trump are seen at the voting booth, while his Secret Service detail surrounds them and media snaps photos. Then, very briefly, in front of the entire world, Trump noticeably looked at his wife’s ballot before walking out of the booth.
The moment quickly caught the attention of journalists and snarky political commentators alike, who seized on the image to mercilessly mock Trump for his perceived insecurity in not trusting his own wife to vote for him. Melania was also not spared from Twitter’s ridicule, with several observers casually wondering if she copied Michelle Obama’s ballot the same way she copied her remarks for her widely panned speech at the Republican National Convention.
Trump’s ballot peek might have also been in violation of election law. Alex Howard of the Sunlight Foundation noted that New York State law prohibits violating the privacy of voters while they’re in the voting booth.
Given Trump’s obvious doubts in his own wife’s promises to vote for him, he very likely harbors his own doubts about his chances tonight.
Zach Cartwright is an activist and author from Richmond, Virginia. He enjoys writing about politics, government, and the media. Send him an email at [email protected], and follow his work on the Public Banking Institute blog.
