Bannon’s remarks weren’t pulled out of thin air, and the timing is no coincidence. It echoes what Trump said yesterday, when he doubled down in the Oval Office about his plan to take control of elections.
Calling states an “agent” of the government, he said, “When you see some of these states, about how horribly they run their elections, what a disgrace it is, I think the federal government [should get involved].”
This is not the first time Trump has said this. Last August, he wrote the same thing on social media: “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 … to do.”
Bannon’s remarks also follow Trump’s recent declaration that Republicans should “take over” elections and “ought to nationalize the voting.” House Speaker Mike Johnson also falsely claimed that elections were “fraudulent.”
Johnson, with a long history of election denialism, went further: “We had three House Republican candidates who were ahead on Election Day in the last election cycle, and every time a new tranche of ballots came in, they just magically whittled away until their leads were lost… It looks on its face to be fraudulent.” In true election denier fashion, he added: “Can I prove that? No.”
The implications seem clear: Nine months out from the midterm elections, we face a coordinated effort by Trump, his administration, congressional Republicans and MAGA leaders to normalize a federal takeover of elections, enforced by ICE and federal agents.
Those of you who are frequent readers of my writing know that I have been sounding this alarm for months. Just yesterday, I wrote that Trump would use federal paramilitary forces to block voting access. After that, Trump may use the Department of Justice to seize ballots and take over vote counting.
Sending in ICE and federal agents to patrol elections isn’t just about immigration. We know that ICE won’t hesitate to go after American citizens, and just their presence alone will prevent people from going to the polls.
Federal officers can block roads, making it more difficult to get to your local polling location. They can use intimidation tactics to scare people who are trying to vote for Democrats. They may use violence against those who are campaigning, knocking on doors and doing same-day voter registration.
All of this, of course, is unconstitutional and illegal. However, Trump has no respect for the Constitution and no regard for the rule of law. He will eagerly deploy this plan if it helps him secure a Republican victory. If Democrats win the majority, Trump’s authoritarian plan will be foiled — and he knows that.
Voter suppression isn’t always done quietly through laws and the courts. Trump has figured out that he can normalize voter intimidation and election subversion by talking about it regularly in the open.
We cannot let him. We must not allow Trump and Bannon’s threats to become normalized. We must sound the alarm and insist that our leaders resist Trump’s efforts to take over elections and use federal officers to restrict voting and intimidate U.S. citizens from voting.
Most importantly, we cannot allow ourselves to live in denial about what is happening to our democracy. Republicans are planning to steal the midterms. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
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