'Dangerous': Trump's escalating election rhetoric criticized by officials, experts

On the presidential debate stage , Donald Trump was given an opportunity to acknowledge he lost the 2020 election. He did not take it.

ABC News moderator David Muir read aloud recent quotes from the former president in which he appeared to admit being defeated by President Joe Biden, including last week when he said he "lost by a whisker."

"I said that?" Trump responded. He went on to say that such remarks were sarcastic and that he did not, in fact, accept his loss.

Trump's false claims and grievances about the 2020 race have long been a central theme of his third campaign for the White House. But recently, his rhetoric's escalated to threats to prosecute election workers and attempts to sow doubt on the 2024 outcome before a single vote has been cast.

In a social media post over the weekend, Trump pledged to jail election workers, donors, lawyers and others "involved in unscrupulous behavior" related to voting in the 2024 election if he wins. They'd be prosecuted, he said, under his scrutiny and "at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country."

Election officials and law experts condemned the statement as irresponsible and damaging at a time when public servants charged with overseeing elections face increased threats and harassment .

"The remarks are despicable and dangerous," Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, told ABC News.

"The continued claims of cheating are unsupported by any reliable evidence -- but they will cause millions of people to continue to believe the false claims that U.S. elections are rigged," Hasen said. "After Jan. 6, 2021, a responsible person would be more circumspect with rhetoric about elections and cheating. Donald Trump is doubling down."

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat whose state was an epicenter of false claims of fraud in 2020, similarly worried about the impact of Trump's statements.

"It makes me concerned that this will set other people off. I think the one thing that we've seen before is that words have consequences and meaning," Fontes told ABC News. "And while we are concerned, we are also prepared. Elections officials across the country have been working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to monitor and track threats, to make sure we're keeping our voters safe and make sure we're keeping our elections officials safe."

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat who experienced protests at her home after Trump's 2020 loss, said her duty is to "rise above the noise and continue to ensure our elections are fair, secure, accessible, and that the results are accurate."

The Pennsylvania Department of State, noting it conducts two audits after every election, told ABC News it was "confident in the integrity of county officials and election administrators across the Commonwealth, despite irresponsible statements that are not based in fact or supported by evidence."

Several secretaries of state, including Benson and Fontes, were on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to testify on their 2024 election preparations.

Asked for comment on the concern from officials, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, "President Trump believes anyone who breaks the law should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, including criminals who engage in election fraud. Without free and fair elections, you can't have a country. Ask Venezuela."

Trump's allegations of fraud in the 2020 election were debunked by his own administration officials. Dozens of legal challenges brought by his campaign or his allies in battleground states failed in the courts.

But the impact of the efforts to overturn results were tangible on election officials and poll workers.

Lawrence Norden, vice president of elections and government at the Brennan Center for Justice, earlier this year reported a survey of local election officials across the U.S. found 38% reported experiencing threats, harassment or abuse. Fifty-four percent said they were concerned about the safety of their colleagues. In some cases, Norden said, offices reported installing bullet proof glass or provided extra security training to staff. Some have left their positions altogether.

Norden said it was "very frustrating" to see Trump's comments after the steps taken by election workers to bring down the temperature these past four years, including efforts to combat misinformation and to improve transparency.

"Any political leader, and certainly somebody running for president of the United States, implying that election officials could be prosecuted is potentially doing two things," he said. "It's not going to change the behavior of any election worker or election official, but it's potentially encouraging further threats or violence, and it is laying the groundwork to potentially undermine or question election results that you don't like later on."

In addition to his threat to prosecute election workers, Trump has repeatedly accused Democrats of staging a "coup" in nominating Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden dropped out of the race. He's sent mixed messaging on voting methods, at times encouraging his supporters to vote in any way possible and at other times baselessly claiming mail-in ballots are ripe for abuse, despite using a mail ballot in Florida's 2020 primary. He's said a focus of his campaign is to make sure Democrats don't "cheat."

When asked during the CNN debate in June if he would commit to accepting the November outcome, he only said: "If it's a fair and legal and good election, absolutely."