A senior federal election security official who was appointed by President Donald Trump has blasted the President’s false post-election claims, calling them “baffling”, “laughable” and “insulting”.

Asked in an interview what he would say to Trump about the election, Ben Hovland said “these conspiracy theories that are flying around have consequences.”…

“At a minimum, it’s insulting to the professionals that run our elections and hopefully that’s the worst that comes of it,” Hovland told MIT Technology Review. “Our people, they’re doing their jobs but they don’t feel safe doing it. That is a tragedy. That is awful. These are public servants. This isn’t a job you do for glory or to get rich.”