Trump demands GOP 'take over' of voting in 15 states ahead of midterm elections
Donald Trump has asked Republican Party officials to "take over" voting procedures in 15 states.
During an interview with ex-deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, the president made a speech on immigration, and directly called for the election process to be taken into Republican control. Trump's call is cause for concern after previous comments from the president saw him suggest canceling the midterms entirely.
Earlier this year, Trump said, "“I won’t say cancel the election, they should cancel the election because the fake news will say ‘he wants the elections canceled. He’s a dictator.’ They always call me a dictator."
During his comments on Bongino's podcast, Trump called for GOP members to "take over" the procedures in 15 unnamed states.
He said, "The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over. We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many — 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting." Trump's call for a political party to control the election cycle comes not long after administration officials made moves to exert more control on the process.
Trump went on to suggest the GOP must take over the elections process now or it would face a complete wipeout in the future.
He said, "If Republicans don’t get them out, you will never win another election as a Republican. It’s crazy how you can get these people to vote. If we don’t get them out, look, Republicans will never win another election."
The New York Times reported FBI agents had seized ballots from the 2020 election in Fulton County, where Trump allies have falsely claimed election fraud took place.
Trump has also been fretting over midterm results according to analysis from Stephen Collinson, with the commentator claiming the president is worried about being hindered in the second half of his presidency.
Collinson wrote, "He showed yet again Monday he’s obsessing about the midterm elections — two days after a Democratic upset in a reliably Republican state Senate district in Texas offered another ominous sign for the GOP in November."