**Donald Trump’s schemes to rig the midterms are in full force. **Trump officials worry he might do something extreme.
Will President Donald Trump be able to tip the midterms in his favor? Based on how things are going for Republicans, Trump may believe that breaking the system is the only way he can retain any real power after November. This is, after all, the guy who led the entire GOP midterm convention in a bizarre,
dictatorial chantthat included the line: “I’m going to try and cheat like hell!”
Trump being Trump, there’s little knowing exactly what he meant. For now, what’s clear is that the president is considering his options to win in any way can. And state election officials are bracing for the worst.
“ It’s dangerous to our country,” Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar told the
What A Daypodcast. “We have to think about every potential opportunity this president could usurp our elections, and we’re preparing.… We’re meeting with attorney generals to say, ‘What is our strategy, and how are we gonna respond to these issues?’”
Trump’s attacks on the media show how desperate he has become. Polls show his policies are wildly unpopular. There’s no sign that his war with Iran will end soon, as U.S. military stockpiles dwindle. In its court filing to a judge last night, the Trump administration
explained thatit decided to ban Politico, CNN, and MS NOW from entering the White House in part over a story about bad “vibes” among Republicans, as well as unflattering articles about the war.The media bans will continue until morale improves!
Trump’s team has also ramped up efforts to crack down on allegations of voter fraud, a phenomenon that is
virtually nonexistentand, when it rarely does happen,usually a mistake. Hundreds of federal investigators and prosecutors are scouring the country in search of fraud, administration officialstold reportersthis week. Feds are looking into some 1,600 potential cases, officials said, and 160 people have been arrested. More arrests could come ahead of November.
**Some in Trump’s orbit want him to do something downright frightening to stop Republicans from losing power in the midterms: **Declare martial law.
Ever since Trump took office for a second time, Democrats have feared that he might declare a national emergency that would allow the military to seize power and take over elections. This is, after all, the guy who urged his supporters to “fight like hell” before they stormed the Capitol, and still won’t admit that he lost the 2020 election.
Trump’s team knows that declaring martial law could be dangerous,
The Atlanticreports. Some of his advisers have been trying to steer the president’s focus away from baseless election fraud claims that some of his far-right buddies — who don’t serve in the administration — are pushing, according to the outlet.
Will Trump decide against sending in the troops — or will the far-right convince him that it’s necessary to stay in power? Attorney Peter Ticktin, one of Trump’s closest outside advisers, told
The Atlanticthat he thinks martial law is a logical option. And if riots follow, “our armed forces are a lot bigger than they are,” he said.
Great! A constitutional crisis… just in time for spooky season!
** Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused **the U.S. and Israel of going “against international law” by attacking civilian infrastructure during the war and said that Iran will not surrender during a fiery speech at the U.N. General Assembly. His appearance marks the first time in the organization’s history that the president of a country at war addressed the assembly in person.
** Donald Trump’s highly anticipated three-day summit** with Chinese leader Xi Jinping kicks off tonight. Trump’s rolling out the red carpet for Xi with jet flyovers and a state dinner ahead of tense meetings, which are likely to focus on artificial intelligence and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. But will Xi be charmed? Probably not!
** Trump’s Board of Peace plans to unveil a $2.45 billion plan** to rebuild the Gaza Strip, Axios reports. The recovery efforts would include building temporary housing, removing rubble, and repairing hospitals, and standing up the territory’s economy. The big caveat, however, is that Israel and Hamas would have to cooperate.
** Trump clashed with the first architect of the **White House ballroom, who believed the building violated local safety codes, according to the
** The ICE officer who shot a Venezuelan man in Austin **over the weekend was recently recruited to the agency and wasn’t using a body camera at the time of the shooting, the
** Former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya, the Republican** Senate nominee in Minnesota, disparaged her home state in a since-deleted tweet three years ago. “I’m embarrassed to say I live in Minnesota. This state has gone so far left it’s amazing any of the snow still sticks,” Tafoya posted. She recently denied saying that she was “embarrassed” to be from Minnesota during a local radio interview. (Also, that snow thing you’re noticing isn’t the state’s leftward shift, it’s climate change….)
** Organizers canceled a pro-Trump “Freedom Fest” that was **slated to kick off this weekend in Kentucky due to low VIP ticket sales, which were being sold for $1,000 each. “I am never ever, ever, ever, ever doing this event again,” the organizer said in a video on social media, which has since been deleted. You’re telling me an appearance from Kid Rock couldn’t boost ticket sales?!
** Senate Democrats have a new idea to convince **young people to buy homes: Give them money. A bill introduced by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) would provide first-time homebuyers with up to $50,000 for a down payment. The legislation won’t go anywhere while Republicans control the Senate, but it could gain traction if Dems win big in the midterms.
** The small South Pacific island nation Naoero** made its debut at the U.N. General Assembly this week, after the president renamed the country to reflect its heritage. “For many years, the world has known our country as Nauru. Nauru is how our name sounded to those who found it hard to say, and the world kept it,” President David Adeang said in a speech. “But it is not the name our people used among themselves.” The country’s name is pronounced Now-ero, not Now-roo.
** The family of a woman who fled Germany after** the Nazi invasion were reunited with one of her favorite paintings that had been looted decades ago. “It is more than a work of art,” her great-grandson said. “It is one of the few surviving witnesses to my family’s life in Germany before persecution, dispossession and exile. It connects us not only to what was lost, but to the life that existed before that loss.”
** A North Carolina man earned the highest honor** for civilian heroism in the U.S. and Canada for helping his son pull a man from his wrecked SUV in upstate New York — right before it burst into flames. His son received the Army Soldier’s Medal, the highest military honor for noncombat actions, earlier this year.
** Children will start arriving at a new, state-of-the-art** foster village in Southern California in the coming weeks — thanks to Christian Bale. The actor has spent 18 years working on the project, raising $22 million. This is totally on brand for Batman.
