Lost means the other side cheated! As the Democrats continue to win major victories in elections, Trump openly called on the Republicans to take control of the election systems across the country.
According to The New York Times, in a recent interview, Trump urged the Republicans to "nationalize voting," increasing concerns about the Trump administration's interference in election affairs. At the same time, he and his allies continue to spread rumors about the 2020 election.
In a podcast episode released on Monday, Trump, while discussing immigration issues at length, said that Republican officials should "take over" the voting processes in 15 states, although he did not specifically name these states.
He said on the program hosted by former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino: "Republicans should say, 'We are going to take over. We should take over voting, at least in many places. The Republicans should nationalize voting."
Under the U.S. Constitution, elections are mainly managed by state laws, so the voting system is highly decentralized, with county and local officials across the country responsible for organizing it.
However, Trump has consistently promoted false claims about widespread fraud in U.S. elections, claiming that Democrats are conspiring to allow undocumented immigrants to vote to boost Democratic voter turnout. Even after he won the 2024 election, he now openly began calling on the Republicans to control the voting process.
Last week, FBI agents seized ballots and other records from an election center in Fulton County, Georgia. For years, Trump's allies have been pushing false allegations of election fraud here.
The New York Times reported on Monday that Trump had also spoken with FBI agents involved in the raid and expressed appreciation and gratitude to them.
Under the Trump administration, the Department of Justice has become increasingly partisan, and is now asking multiple states, including Minnesota, to submit complete voter registration records. The Trump administration is trying to establish a national voter database.
In March this year, Trump signed an executive order attempting to make significant changes to the election process, including requiring voters to present proof of citizenship and setting a rule that all mail-in ballots must arrive before the polls close on Election Day, but it was repeatedly rejected by the courts.
On social media, Trump also pushed more radical measures. In August last year, he expressed a desire to completely eliminate mail-in voting and even stop using voting machines.
Trump's latest harsh remarks about the election come as Democrats have defeated Republicans in a series of elections. In November last year, Democratic candidates won decisively in the gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia.
Last Saturday, Democrats won a state Senate special election in Texas by a margin of 14 percentage points, while this district had previously been won by Trump by 17 percentage points in the 2024 election.
Concerned that the Republicans might face a traditional "incumbent backlash" in the midterm elections, Trump launched a redistricting campaign last year to gain electoral advantage. This effort started in Texas and has now expanded to states dominated by both Democrats and Republicans, becoming a core part of Trump's midterm election strategy.
Trump has never hidden his intention to expand the role of the federal government in election management. Last month, he told The New York Times that he regretted not using the National Guard to take over voting equipment after the 2020 election.
In the interview with Bongino, Trump linked his goal of having his party control the voting mechanism to his agenda of combating undocumented immigrants.
He said, "If Republicans don't get rid of them, they will never win elections again. It's crazy for these people to vote. If we don't get rid of them, just watch, the Republicans will never win."
Trump's claims of election fraud have been repeatedly refuted, whether by independent reviews, court proceedings, or statements from Republican officials themselves. The New York Times noted that an investigation launched by the Trump administration into the 2024 election had found almost no evidence of large-scale participation of undocumented immigrants in voting by last month.
An audit conducted by the Georgia Secretary of State in 2024 found that out of 8.2 million registered voters, only 20 were not U.S. citizens, and only 9 of them had voted.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856079137090073/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.