Trump’s Lies Set the Stage for Another Attempt to Steal a National Election
Trump is again attacking the foundational idea of our democracy – the sacred right to vote in free and fair elections. 
By all appearances, Trump is setting the stage for another attempt to steal a national election – the 2026 congressional elections. And he has used lies and unconstitutional proposals in this effort.
He blatantly lied last year, for example, in saying: “Remember, the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do.”
Trump repeated his false claim this week and created more headlines by saying, “We should take over the voting, the voting, in at least 15 places,” and “The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that are so crooked and they’re counting votes.”
The idea is clearly unconstitutional. The Constitution explicitly provides under Article 1, Section 4 that states and Congress have the authority to regulate and oversee our election process – not the executive branch and not political parties.
Regardless, it highlights an undeniable fact. Trump is obviously scared that Democrats will win control of the House in November and that he will be impeached for the third time.
He has good reasons to be afraid.
Polls show Trump has lost the support of a substantial majority of Americans. He is being rejected on policy after policy.
Democrats also have been winning off-year election after election. They are currently heavy favorites to take control of the House and have a real chance to win Senate control.
Trump is, therefore, trying to maintain Republican control of Congress through other routes: voter suppression and stealing elections.
Since he lost the 2020 presidential election, Trump has lied ad nauseam that the presidential race was stolen from him. Neither Trump nor anyone else, however, has ever provided a shred of evidence to show that he won that election.
Trump’s lies about his presidential elections continued to this day. Just last week, he falsely claimed he had won Minnesota in 2016, 2020 and 2024. He lost Minnesota in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
Last week, Trump’s FBI raided the Fulton County elections headquarters and hauled away Fulton County ballots and records dealing with the 2020 presidential election.
Yesterday, the Fulton County elections board filed a motion in federal court to get their ballots back.
Whatever the Trump administration thinks it can do with the election information it seized, it will have zero credibility. After all Trump showed his lack of concern for facts, when he tried to steal the Georgia 2020 presidential race with his infamous phone call.
But the Georgia raid is also focused on intimidating and harassing election officials and voters, as part of a broad strategic effort to set the stage for attempting to steal the 2026 congressional elections from the Democrats.
The efforts to get state voter rolls are also part of that strategic approach.
According to the Brennan Center, “Since May 2025, the Justice Department has demanded full, unredacted voter rolls — which would include driver’s license and partial Social Security numbers — from at least 44 states and the District of Columbia.” Most of the states refused to turn over this information, leading the Justice Department to sue more than 20 states to get this information.
It is very hard to rig the 2026 congressional elections, which take place in 435 distinct congressional districts in 50 states along with 33 Senate races. But that will not stop Trump from trying.
Trump has turned ICE into his own national police force. It could be used to intimidate and harass voters on Election Day. So could the National Guard and regular military units if Trump invokes the Insurrection Act.
Trump could also use the Justice Department and the FBI to try to prevent citizens from voting, to shut down polling places, and to seize ballots. Trump could mess with the Postal Service to delay or block mailed ballots. Trump could also have law enforcement try to seize ballot boxes in key races.
Americans must, and will, push back hard at every stage to protect the integrity of the 2026 elections.
Citizens, judges, state attorneys general, governors, mayors, state and local elected officials, nonprofit legal groups, and law firms – among others – must be ready now to do battle – and to stop Trump in his tracks.
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Fred’s Weekly Note appears on Thursdays in Wertheimer’s Political Report, a Democracy 21 newsletter. Read this week’s newsletter, and other recent editions, here. And subscribe for free here and receive your copy each week via email.
