He knew full well that this would cause a media freakout, that journalists and pundits would rise up in unison and denounce him for promoting such a blatantly illegal act.

And that was precisely the point.

Had Trump merely issued his 130th warning about mail ballot fraud, it wouldn’t have made much news, maybe one paragraph in a story. But he knows from long experience that when he crosses the line, goes over the top, the resulting furor can last several days, even a week, getting the media and political world chattering about the very issue he wants to spotlight.