Trump Suggests What Would Happen if We Got Rid of All of the Fraud [WATCH]

President Donald Trump said widespread fraud in several states, particularly Minnesota and California, is masking the true financial condition of government programs and could amount to tens of billions of dollars, arguing that eliminating that fraud alone would be enough to balance the federal budget.

Trump made the remarks while discussing what he described as ongoing investigations into fraud and abuse, saying the scale of the problem is significantly larger than previously reported.

“I think it’s really bad,” Trump said. “The other thing we can’t lose sight of is you probably have in Minnesota, and it’s worse in some places like California, $19 billion in fraud.”

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Trump said investigators are continuing to dig into the issue and that the estimated figures have increased as more information has surfaced.

“And we’re going to find out, you know, we have, we’re very deep into that investigation,” he said.

“But we’re not going to forget that a lot of people think that a lot of this nonsense that’s going on is to try and, you know, hide what’s going on.”

According to Trump, early estimates of the fraud were significantly lower than what is now being reported, and he suggested the final total could exceed current figures.

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“With respect to the fraud 19, at least $19 billion you know, you’re hearing nine,” Trump said.

“Now I’m hearing it’s 19, and it’s probably much more.”

Trump rejected the idea that the losses were caused by bureaucratic mismanagement or simple mistakes, instead attributing them to deliberate actions by individuals he described as dishonest.

“So it’s, it’s, you know, they talk about incompetence,” he said.

“I think it’s not incompetence. I think it’s just pure fraud.”

Trump accused those responsible of acting intentionally and said the conduct reflects deeper problems within the system.

“These are dishonest people,” he said.

“They’re bad people. I think they hate our country, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it.”

Trump emphasized that attention should remain focused on uncovering and addressing fraud, regardless of other political controversies or distractions.

“But don’t let this hide the fact that you have tremendous fraud,” he said.

He argued that recovering funds lost to fraud would have a dramatic impact on the federal government’s finances and could eliminate the need for spending cuts.

“And, you know, we find the fraud in this country,” Trump said.