Senator Schiff warns Trump’s call to ‘nationalise’ US elections could undermine democracy | World News

US Senator Adam Schiff has warned that President Donald Trump’s calls to “nationalise” US elections could undermine democracy at home and harm America’s standing abroad as the country heads towards midterm elections.

Speaking to ABC’s This Week, Schiff said Trump appeared ready to intervene in the vote if Republicans lost.

“I think he’s going to try to overturn the election,” Schiff said. “He will do everything he can to obstruct the vote.”

Schiff said Americans should take the warning seriously. He noted Trump’s efforts to cancel the 2020 election. “We saw him working to the point of insurrection to cancel the 2020 election,” he said.

Schiff said that Trump’s recent actions and statements point to a similar approach before November. “He’s basically telling us that he intends to interfere in the upcoming election,” he said.

The California Democrat said the issue goes beyond U.S. domestic politics. He warned that repeated allegations of election fraud are undermining confidence in American democracy and are being closely watched abroad.

Schiff raised alarm about the Director of National Intelligence’s involvement in an FBI operation in Georgia that seized 2020 election materials. He said the intelligence chief had no role in internal election matters.

“His job is to oversee the work of intelligence agencies by focusing on external threats,” Schiff said, “and not to pose a threat to our domestic peace by interfering in elections.”

He called the episode “unprecedented” and questioned why officials were revisiting an election that had been reviewed many times before. “Why is the FBI carrying out a raid five years later when there have been three recounts in Georgia?” he asked.

Schiff said such actions appear designed to send a warning. “The message is: We will not tolerate or accept an election that we lost,” he said.

He also linked election concerns to immigration enforcement. Schiff said lawmakers must ensure federal agents do not intimidate voters. “We don’t have ICE agents at polling places,” he said, adding that elections should be “free” and “fair.”

Schiff criticized Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s claim that some elections were “fraudulent,” which Trump later shared online. “This is just the latest iteration of the big lie,” Schiff said.

He accused Republicans of laying the groundwork to challenge the election results if they lost. “They somehow continue to tell the American people that American elections are unreliable,” he said.

Schiff rejected proposals that would require proof of citizenship or photo identification to vote. He said such measures would suppress participation. “This is part of a broader disenfranchisement effort,” he said.

Appearing separately on the show, Republican Congressman Mike Lawler condemned a Trump-related post that used racist images of former President Barack Obama. Lawler called it “wrong and incredibly offensive” and said it should never have been shared.

Protecting democracy will ultimately fall on voters, not politicians or the courts, Schiff said. “The last and best hope for our democracy will be the American people,” he said.

For international audiences, including India, the debate underscores how the United States’ domestic political struggles can have broader consequences, shaping global views of American democratic stability and leadership.