Overview
- On Dan Bongino’s relaunched podcast, Trump called for Republicans to “take over” voting in at least 15 places and to “nationalize” elections, repeating disproven claims of widespread fraud and illegal voting by immigrants.
- He did not identify the jurisdictions or outline a mechanism for federal control; the White House pointed instead to legislative priorities such as the SAVE Act, voter ID standards, and limits on mail voting and ballot collection.
- The comments followed the FBI’s court‑authorized search of Fulton County, Georgia’s elections hub for 2020 records, with news reports saying Trump spoke by phone with agents during a visit by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
- Georgia officials raised chain‑of‑custody concerns over seized records and indicated they plan counter‑litigation, saying originals and voter rolls were taken without an inventory confirming what was returned.
- Constitutional experts and figures from both parties noted that states administer elections and that courts have already blocked parts of Trump’s 2025 order on voting rules, calling any federal takeover effort unlawful.