Trump declines to rule out declaring a national security emergency to control the 2026 election

In a recent interview, former President Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of declaring a national security emergency to exert more control over the 2026 midterm elections. This comes as a growing concern that Trump might attempt to interfere with the election process before votes are even cast, rather than just making unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud and challenging the results afterward, as he did in the 2020 election, which led to a violent riot at the U.S. Capitol.

During the interview, Wayne Allyn Root of Real America’s Voice suggested this scenario to Trump as an alternative, given the Senate's failure to pass his desired elections bill, known as the "SAVE America Act." Root further explained that if such an emergency were declared by the president, it could not be challenged and would require a two-thirds vote from both houses of Congress to overturn.

Trump, however, simply responded that "stranger things have happened" and left it at that. Despite Root's comments, it remains unclear whether such a tactic would be effective. CNN has requested more information from the White House regarding Trump's comments. Although Trump often responds to hypothetical situations by declining to rule them out, regardless of how extreme the proposal may be, there are still signs that he aspires to gain more control over elections.

One such method is the administration's threat to prevent the U.S. Postal Service from delivering mail ballots in states that do not comply with the administration's demand for voter list sharing, a request that even many red states have rejected due to privacy concerns. Democrats are more likely to use mail ballots, which Trump has baselessly linked to widespread fraud, so limiting them could significantly benefit Republicans.

The White House has already faced legal challenges for this executive order, with federal courts blocking it, and the administration has since appealed to the Supreme Court. Trump has also been actively promoting his unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud, including seizing 2020 ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, and delivering a primetime address on election security that some interpret as a statement of intent – a pretext for more direct federal involvement in elections, which are administered by states.