Trump slams early voting, even while urging voters to do so

Donald Trump dismissed early voting Monday as "stupid" but nevertheless encouraged voters in Pennsylvania to cast ballots as soon as possible, as he vowed if elected U.S. president to repel a migrant "invasion" of the battleground state.

"If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole thing. It's very simple," he said of what is perhaps the biggest prize among the swing states likely to determine whether Trump or Democrat Kamala Harris wins the White House on Nov. 5.

"Go out, make a plan to vote early, vote absentee or vote in-person on election day," he said.

Trump reminded the crowd in the town of Indiana, in western Pennsylvania, that early voting in the state rolls out over the next two weeks.

"You can start right away, you know that right? Now we have this stupid stuff where you can vote 45 days early," Trump said, as he again floated suspicions about early voting in 2020, when he lost Pennsylvania and the election to Joe Biden.

"I wonder what the hell happens during that 45 (days)," he said. "What happened the last time was disgraceful, including right here. But we're not going to let it happen again."

Trump has routinely said on the campaign trail he prefers one-day voting. But in a bid to neutralize the advantage Democrats have had in recent elections with early voting, his campaign has been encouraging Republicans to cast ballots before election day.

Trump also spent much of his rambling, 90-minute address on immigration, the hot-button issue around which he has based his campaign. He reprised his dark imagery of "murderers" and other "evil" migrants pouring across the border and taking over communities.