Government should run elections if states can’t

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the “federal government should get involved” in elections in states that cannot “legally and honestly” conduct elections on their own.

If they can’t do it, “someone else should take over,” Trump said in the Oval Office after signing a bill to fund the federal government.

The comments show that Trump has not pushed back on Republicans’ latest suggestion that they “nationalize” the elections, even as Democrats voice concerns that the administration might try to interfere in the upcoming midterm elections.

“If a state can’t hold an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it,” Trump said in the Oval Office, referring to the handful of Republican lawmakers standing around him.

In a podcast interview published Monday, he was asked what he meant when he called on Republican Party members to “take over the vote.”

“Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over the state.’ We should take over voting, voting in at least 15 places… Republicans should nationalize voting,” Trump said in an interview with former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino.

Trump spoke at the White House just hours after the House narrowly approved a measure that would end a partial government shutdown. This vote was close because hard-line Republicans wanted to force the Senate to consider the SAVE Act, which would establish nationwide voter ID requirements. Trump called on congressional Republicans to pass this bill.

States are primarily responsible for administering their own election systems under the U.S. Constitution. When asked about this fact on Tuesday, Trump replied: “They can run the election, but they have to do it honestly.”

He also said: “If you think about it, a state is the representative of the federal government in elections. I don’t know why the federal government doesn’t do these things anyway. But when you see how badly some of these states run their elections, what a disgrace.”

Trump repeated his frequent claim that the elections in the 2020 cycle, in which he lost his reelection bid to former President Joe Biden, were “rigged” and “crooked.” There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

“Look at Detroit,” he said. “Look at Philadelphia. Go look at Atlanta.”

“Look at some places: there is terrible fraud in the elections and the federal government should not allow it. The federal government should get involved,” Trump said.

“These are representatives of the federal government who count the votes. If they can’t count the votes legally and honestly, then someone else should take over.”