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Trump Calls on Republicans to 'Nationalize' Elections
February 2, 2026
During a nearly two-hour appearance on Dan Bongino's podcast on February 2, 2026, President Trump called on Republicans to "take over" and "nationalize" voting in at least 15 unspecified places, claiming without evidence that noncitizens were being brought to the country to vote illegally. The remarks drew bipartisan pushback, with legal experts noting such a move would contradict the Constitution's elections clause, which delegates election administration to state governments. The comments came days after the FBI executed a search warrant at a Fulton County, Georgia election office seeking 2020 election records.
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6 Statements
Feb 3, 2026
“I'm not in favor of federalizing elections, no. I think that's a constitutional issue. I'm a big believer in decentralized and distributed power. And I think it's harder to hack 50 election systems than it is to hack one. In my view, at least, that's always a system that has worked pretty well.”
Feb 3, 2026
“Does Donald Trump need a copy of the Constitution? What he's saying is outlandishly illegal. Once again, the president's talking no differently than a dictator.”
Feb 3, 2026
“I opposed nationalizing elections when Speaker Pelosi wanted major changes to elections in all 50 states. I'll oppose this now as well. I work with the NE Gov & Unicameral to ensure we have secure elections where every citizen's vote counts. This is what the Constitution calls for.”
“The president believes in the United States Constitution, however, he believes there has obviously been a lot of fraud and irregularities that have taken place in American elections. I don't think any rational person who's being honest with themselves would disagree with the idea of requiring citizens of this country to present an ID before casting a ballot in a federal election.”
“The Republicans should say, "We want to take over." We should take over the voting in at least — many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that are so crooked, and they're counting votes — we have states that I won that show I didn't win.”
“These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally. If Republicans don't get them out, you will never win another election as a Republican.”