Imaginations run wild at what President Donald Trump and his allies might yet do to interfere in the coming midterm election. He’s already done quite a bit.
This is the man who alleged widespread voter fraud even in the two elections he won and who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election he still won’t admit he lost. There’s no evidence of any such fraud.
Asked in recent months about some more extreme possible actions he could take in November or after, Trump has stayed coy while leaving ample room to stoke conspiracy theories, even as his top aides have continued to raise unsubstantiated concerns about voting machines and noncitizens voting.
Some of these extreme possible measures — which have been the subject of either speculation or direct lobbying by Trump allies — include seizing ballot boxes, declaring a national election emergency, or deploying troops or ICE agents to polling places. When Trump in July gave an address to the nation on election integrity, he did not promise to do any of these things. But speculation has persisted, particularly on the political left as it tries to get out the vote in November.
“Trump is throwing stuff out there. People are biting on it, and it makes the country as a whole more nervous, and is a self-perpetuating cycle,” said Ben Ginsberg, a longtime Republican election lawyer.
