Trump: ‘We should take over the voting’

President Donald Trump urged Republicans to seize control of elections and place voting under national authority Monday — one of his most explicit signals yet that he plans to interfere with the workings of democracy. 

In a radio interview on The Dan Bongino Show, Trump framed voting itself as corrupt, claimed elections were stolen from him and argued that Republicans should take over how ballots are cast and counted.

“These people were brought to our country to vote and they vote illegally. Amazing that the Republicans aren’t tougher on it,” Trump said, falsely. “The Republicans should say, we want to take over. We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”

Trump, as usual, offered no evidence for any of his claims. 

The idea that undocumented immigrants are being brought into the United States to vote is a far-right conspiracy theory that has been repeatedly disproven. Furthermore, noncitizen voting in federal elections is illegal and exceptionally rare, according to investigations by election officials and court findings across the country.

Still, Trump went on to reassert his long-standing false claim that he won the 2020 election, attacking states by name.

“We have states that I won that show I didn’t win,” he said. “Now, you’re going to see something in Georgia where they were able to get, with a court order, the ballots. You’re going to see some interesting things come out, but you know, like the 2020 election, I won that election by so much, everybody knows it.”

Trump’s comments come on the heels of an FBI raid on the Fulton County elections office in Georgia last week, where federal agents executed a court-authorized search warrant and seized physical ballots, tabulator tapes, electronic images and voter rolls from the 2020 presidential election. The extraordinary action has drawn sharp criticism from local officials and voting rights advocates who say the materials were secure and that the raid feeds unfounded election conspiracy theories. 

Later in the interview, Trump turned to the case of Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk convicted under state law for her role in an election security breach after the 2020 election. 

Peters allowed unauthorized access to voting equipment and was found guilty of multiple state crimes related to that conduct.

“They put a woman in jail, Colorado, put a woman in jail, a wonderful woman, 72 years old [sic.], had cancer because she was a voting inspector. She was in charge of a voting area and she saw boxes of votes come in,” Trump said. “She went over to check it and they put her in jail for voter manipulation and she’s still in jail and they better let her out fast. They’re suffering a big price, Colorado.”

Peters was not jailed for “challenging” ballot dumping but for actions that prosecutors and a jury found compromised election security. Because she was convicted of state crimes, Trump has no authority to free her, despite repeated attempts.

In recent weeks, Trump has also suggested that the United States should not even hold the 2026 midterm elections, remarks the White House later dismissed as joking.