Donald Trump is quietly doing every part you’d do for those who wished to undermine an election
The systematic way in which Trump is targeting and neutering the little-known, bipartisan barriers to meddling is getting harder to ignore – here’s everything you need to know about that and more from Trumpworld
(Image: Getty Images)
Donald Trump is quietly doing exactly what you’d do if you wanted to overturn the result of an election you didn’t like.
Undermining faith in American elections among the general public isn’t new for Trump. It’s one of his favourite pastimes. But the systematic way in which Trump is targeting and neutering the little-known, bipartisan barriers to meddling is getting harder to ignore. And with the Midterm elections just months away, it’s increasingly looking like he isn’t in a mood to wait for the result.
Let’s take a minute to look at the two new ways he’s trying to undermine and control the way Americans vote before we get into the regular roundup.
He gutted a crucial elections watchdog
Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump had the power to shape the membership and leadership of government bodies that were designed to be independent. And yesterday he used those powers to effectively dismantle the Election Assistance Commission – firing the two Democratic members of the four-person board and accepting the resignation of a Republican member. The other Republican quit earlier in the year.
The Commission is responsible for maintaining voter registration forms and certifying voting machines and equipment. It was formed after the farce of the 2000 election, where the result took weeks to be finalised because of recounts and court challenges in Florida.
The White House said Trump “reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted.”
He’s still trying to force Congress to pass his election meddling bill
Regular readers will be familiar with the SAVE America Act, Trump’s bid to make sweeping changes to the way Americans can vote. It would demand strict photo ID to register to vote, seize control of voter rolls on an unprecedented scale, and dramatically clamp down on postal voting – which Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed is vulnerable to fraud.
It will never pass through Congress. Trump hasn’t got the votes and Congress won’t give up the filibuster to force it through.
The whatabuster?
A filibuster is where one party can block another party’s bill getting to a vote by literally standing up and talking without stopping. It’s a bad look for the party trying to push the law through, because it calls attention to it. And you need 60 votes in the Senate to break a filibuster, and the Republicans only have 51. They can change the rules with a simple majority to ban the filibuster, but that would risk Democrats tearing up loads of laws that they like with no way of stopping them next time they get in. It’s like mutually assured destruction but for Congress.
Still, Trump continues to strong-arm Republicans into ramming it through
His latest method of extortion against his own party has been his refusal to sign the Housing bill. Long story short, the current housing bill has broad bipartisan support and is generally considered to be A Good Thing.
Trump could not be less interested in it, regardless of whether it makes it easier for regular Americans to buy or build homes. He’s referred to it as a “yawn”.
But in it, Trump thought he saw an opportunity, so he held it to ransom. He refused to sign it at the very last minute, denying Congress what could be its last bill signing before the election.
Thing is though, he can only sit on it for 10 days, at which point it becomes law whether he signs it or not. Unless he vetoes it, which he probably …maybe..won’t do.
He posted on Truth Social today saying it was a point of protest – and effectively threatened consequences for those who didn’t let him get his way.
“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump wrote.
“THE SAVE AMERICA ACT’S non-passage is CRAZY, and a serious threat to any politician who votes against it!
Trump has threatened to bomb Iran from beyond the grave
Donald Trump has told the New York Post that he’s left instructions “if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.” He added: “I’ve been No. 1 [on Iran’s kill list] for a long time, and it’s the way life is, you know. I hope you’ll miss me”
There is, of course, no legal basis for this. If Trump dies it would be up to his successor to decide whether to honour his wishes.
Kristi Noem is getting a divorce
Shortly after she was sacked as Homeland Security Secretary by Trump, you may remember Kristi Noem was “blindsided” by a real marmalade dropper of a story about her husband, Byron. Mr Noem, it emerged, had been participating in online fetish forums, posting photos of himself wearing pink hot pants and enormous fake breasts. The revelation came after a huge amount of speculation about the nature of Mrs Noem’s relationship with close aide Corey Lewandowski. Asked at a Congressional committee if they were in a sexual relationship, Ms Noem branded the allegation “tabloid garbage” and a “disgusting lie.”
It came as a surprise to nobody today when it was revealed that Kristi and Byron Noem are to divorce.
Trump is making it even harder for people to see the White House
There are currently two ways to see the White House in person – from Lafayette Park to the north, and from the Ellipse to the south. In normal times, it’s actually quite impressive how close you can get to the “People’s House” – though the huge iron fences serve as a reminder that it’s one of the most secure premises on the planet.
I say in normal times, because increasingly one or both of the Ellipse and Lafayette Park is fenced off these days. This is an annoyance for a number of reasons. As well as being a hotspot for tourists, Lafayette Park is the traditional place where people come to protest.
I think I’ve only been down to Lafayette Park once since Trump returned to office and found it open. It’s sometimes closed for security reasons – but since Trump came back it’s mostly been because he’s been redecorating. He’s given the fountains in the park a once-over – and added a really gross RGB lighting package. And he’s repaved the paths, which were perfectly fine as they were. There’s some suspicion the renovations were planned to prevent people getting close enough to the bulldozed East Wing to see the ongoing work.
Anyway, on the other side of the building, the Ellipse is often closed for events, or simply for days when Marine One is landing on the South Lawn. Which is a lot. And when both of these parks are closed you really can’t get a good look at the People’s House from either angle.
Well, tonight the Trump Administration submitted a proposal to put Lafayette Park behind a permanent fence. The plan indicates that it would still allow public access. But it would mean the Secret Service would no longer have to erect temporary fencing every time they close the park – meaning the barrier to closure would be much lower. For journalists, for activists and for touritsts, this would be a terrible move.
