President Donald Trump on Tuesday escalated his call to “nationalize” U.S. elections, saying the federal government should take over vote counting in states he claims are “corrupt.” It comes even after the White House attempted to walk back his remarks hours earlier.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said states that cannot run elections “legally and honestly” should lose control of the process altogether.
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“Take a look at Detroit, take a look at Pennsylvania, take a look at Philadelphia, you go take a look at Atlanta, look at some of the places with horrible corruption on elections, and the federal government should not allow that,” Trump said. “These are agents of the federal government to count the votes. If they can’t count the votes legally and honestly, then someone else should take over.”
White House attempts to reframe remarks as voter ID push
The comments came just hours after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump had been referring only to voter ID requirements and to the SAVE Act, a Republican-backed bill that would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.
“I don’t think any rational person who’s being honest with themselves would disagree with the idea of requiring citizens of this country to present an ID before casting a ballot,” Leavitt said. “That’s something the president wants to see happen. So that’s what he was referring to.”
Trump expands claim, calls for federal control if vote counting
Trump’s Oval Office remarks went well beyond voter identification, explicitly calling for federal involvement in administering elections and naming Democratic strongholds including Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta.
Under the U.S. Constitution, elections are administered by state and local governments, with the federal government playing a limited role. Trump’s comments drew criticism from Democrats and some Republicans.
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the president’s comments crossed a constitutional line.
“It is inappropriate for the president to advocate for actions that are wholly at odds with the Constitution and two and a half centuries of state and local elections,” Warner said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune also distanced himself from Trump’s proposal, telling reporters he does not support federalizing elections.
“It’s harder to hack 50 election systems than it is to hack one,” Thune said.
Trump first raised the idea of nationalizing elections in a podcast interview Monday, arguing Republicans should “take over” voting in multiple states. His remarks come amid heightened scrutiny of election administration following a recent FBI search of a Georgia elections office tied to a Justice Department records effort.
While the White House continues to frame the president’s comments around voter ID legislation, Trump’s latest remarks make clear the debate now centers on who controls election administration as the country heads into a high-stakes midterm election year.
