Monday, May 11, 2026

Trump threatens using ‘army’ to rig midterm elections

 

Trump threatens using ‘army’ to rig midterm elections

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/5/11/800036974/elections/trump-threatens-using-army-to-rig-midterm-elections/ 

Trump threatens using ‘army’ to rig midterm elections

A person votes in the Virginia redistricting referendum at Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Attribution: APA person votes in the Virginia redistricting referendum at Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy, on April 21, in Alexandria, Virginia.

President Donald Trump is being criticized for his call for an “election integrity army” to fight against Democrats concerned about voter suppression.

In a post to his Truth Social account on Sunday, Trump fumed that former Attorney General Eric Holder plans to work with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on efforts to suppress the vote in the upcoming midterm elections. Trump lied and claimed that “unhinged” Democrats “will no doubt try to suppress Republican voters.”

Trump praised the Republican Party’s use of an “election integrity army” during the 2024 election cycle and added, “We will be doing the same again in 2026, but it will be much bigger and stronger.”

A cartoon by Pedro Molina of the Strait of Hormuz being blocked, with "voters" on one side and "rights" on the other.
Attribution: Pedro Molina/Tribune Content AgencyCartoon by Pedro Molina

Democratic Rep. Norma Torres of California called out Trump’s post soon after, writing, “The only thing ‘unhinged’ here is a President calling for a private ‘army’ to hover over legal voters. This blatant attempt to bully Americans out of their right to vote is pathetic. Our democracy doesn’t belong to anyone.”

Trump’s post was in reference to the April 29 announcement by Senate Democrats that they have launched a task force to protect the election and had enlisted Holder and election attorney Marc Elias.

“We know that some on the extreme right will try to rig the system,” Schumer said in a Senate speech. “Donald Trump said it, he said he can’t win the election except by rigging it. That’s more or less what he said.”

As evidence, Schumer noted Trump’s use of the FBI to raid a Georgia election office and take custody of 2020 election ballots, the election he has continually lied about and said that he won.

Trump’s post comes as poll after poll shows Democrats surging ahead of Republicans in the congressional races, where control of the House and Senate are up for grabs. Voters have been looking for an outlet to express their displeasure with Republican mismanagement of domestic and foreign policy, and the midterm races seem to be the target.


Related | Florida voters sue over ‘extreme’ new House map


Instead of correcting course, Republicans have instead tried to rewrite the borders of congressional districts to lock in their power. Voters have rebuffed these efforts in several states and Republicans have retaliated via conservative-led courts in states like Virginia to overturn the will of the people.

The GOP has a long history of voter suppression, with policies and rhetoric designed to lower turnout in areas that have historically favored the Democrats—particularly among younger voters and voters of color.  

Democrats are hoping that a repeat of past trends, when increased turnout has usually meant a Democratic win, will give their party the majority this year and grant them power of oversight of Trump.

Congressional Republicans have acted as a rubber stamp of the administration since Trump took office last year, and the right is clearly worried that is all coming to an end.

Daily Kos is free for everyone—no paywall, no barriers. Help keep it that way

Daily Kos is committed to keeping all our content free. That's why we don't have a paywall, and never will. However, Daily Kos' revenue is down, and we may not be able to continue producing the quality of work you have come to expect from us. Donations from our readers are our largest source of income. If you value independent, accessible, paywall-free journalism, please consider making a donation today.

$
OR
Donate with

Was this story worth reading?

Recommending and sharing stories helps us decide which stories are most important to show our readers.

55
Share:





Conversation

|

All Comments

  1. Comment by ProfessorAlbee.

    What I will never be able to understand is why the seemingly sacrosanct 'right to vote' has long been treated by today's batch of fully radicalized MAGA-infused Republicans as a politically expendable 'bargaining chip.'

  2. Comment by Notpaidtopost.

    Washington Post has a guest article today. The author says 'Republicans should grow a spine and stand up to trump, instead of letting him cut Congress out of it's leadership role.

    Most commenters said they thought what Republicans were doing was intentional. I said this idea was old news.

    We don't just need a Blue Wave, we need the Earth itself to open up and swallow Republicans whole. All of the complicit.

    Yes, I'm mad today!

  3. Comment by left MIDDLE right.

    When I read the stories title I immediately laughed and thought "Well of course he is.".

    Since the GOP managed to cheat him into the White House in 2025 he has been priming the entire Military to accept committing crimes as long as He tells them too.

  4. Comment by b3LLsb33r.

    Trump will try to steal the midterms.

    • Reply by Notpaidtopost.

      Do you suppose his little Army is called 'ICE'?

  5. Comment by Wynter.

    Turnout is a double-edged sword I found out from the 2024 election. In my area I saw new faces at the voting site and thought it might be a positive effect for the Democrats. But instead, it turned out to be a lot of MAGA first time voters that were frightened by the far right to defend Republicans. We don't need suppress the conservative far right voters. But we need to blunt whatever fearmongering the Republicans try to trot out just before the election. And they will try to foment some electoral threat that needs to be fought by their scared MAGA followers. We need to keep the Democrats message loud and clear and have it resonated across the public. Make the threats of election fraud clearly coming from Republicans in office currently. There is more than enough evidence out there in the public sphere to show that our current administration is putting their thumb on the scales in a highly illegal manner.

  6. Comment by Liberal Thinking.

    This is the kind of situation where the Army should threaten to arrest Criminal Trump if he issues them an illegal order.

    • Reply by Wynter.

      If the higher ups hadn't been already threatened and replaced, then maybe that could have happened. For now, it looks like uniformed personnel need to document each and every war crime and help it find its way into the hands of the press.

  7. Comment by Judge Moonbox.

    Typically, people reading the Declaration of Independence stop with "the pursuit of happiness." I think we should remind them that the very next clause says that "to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

    In the decades we've been trying to put these glittering promises into practice, we've found that free and fair elections are the best way to ascertain that the government still has that consent. While there are legitimate exceptions for noncitizens and the underage, we need to keep the voter rolls open to everyone else.

    I've been following Republican activists like Hans von Spakovsky who think that they shouldn't have to allow the full participation of the electorate; that the Republican Party is better off if they can use gimmicks to disenfranchise people. That's the twisted sense that Trump uses when he talks about "election integrity."

  8. Comment by healejd.

    I work the polls in my state.

    I am prepared to protect the vote from disruption.

    I am concerned but determined that the rules will be followed and that no one will interfere or be interfered with while I am on the job.

    We are neutral in this regard.

    I am not going to watch anyone or anything deny voters, no matter who they are, the ability to express their wishes as to who leads them, who serves them and who represents their best interests.

    This is my promise.

    If anyone tries to interfere, they will be dealt with professionally and with no fear or favor. That is Democracy. That is our right.

    The MAGA's and the P2025 fascist goons will not be given room to abuse my voting station as long as I am working there in service to my fellow Americans.

    Will you be there?

    Will you work the polling stations as election workers assuring that the voters are served with dignity and respect as the owners of our Democracy?

    We need everyone who is willing to do the right thing. We need each other to assure our voices are heard. Will you give your time and effort to your fellow Americans on voting day?

    Be of service. Be engaged. It is your duty.

    • Reply by Kassidy Burns.

      Thank you for the work that you do, and thank you for reading!

    • Reply by Wynter.

      You need to coordinate with your local police on the process if someone from an outside agency attempts to circumvent your election processes. Basically, a 911 for immediately getting the local authorities involved in restraining any external government officials from interfering in a locally run election. Because something will happen and you must be prepared if it does. Everyone needs to be on the same page, so it doesn't make you look like the criminal in this.

    • Reply by BobRR.

      BRAVO!

    • Reply by squirrelyone.

      Our poll worker training sessions have a whole section dedicated to what poll watchers can and cannot do, along with code words to call the auditor's office for help if we can't safely dial 911.

      As the auditor's office staff kept trying to get into everyone's heads: they can't help us if we don't let them know something's wrong. Or just plain weird. I guess one of our polling places a couple of elections ago had a group of people in zombie makeup just come in and wander around the room moaning, and no one was sure if it constituted an emergency. Was it worth dialing 911 or calling the office? The office said yes and was miffed that the precinct election officers hadn't called immediately.

      If you're voting and feel threatened, call 911. The election workers won't mind. We've probably already done it ourselves, or called a code word to the county to have them dispatch help.

    • Reply by Notpaidtopost.

      I'm a poll worker, too. My state has laws, which are only on which ID'S one must have to vote, and include a procedure to vote a provisional ballot anyway, then later prove you are registered at election headquaters, in case there is a problem.

      We have never had a problem during an election. I just can't imagine that. And it better not happen now. If ICE or anybody else wacko shows up, I'm leaving. Period.

  9. Comment by GrannyCT.

    When you can't win on the merits, call out the army I guess!

  10. Comment by MessagingMatters.

    You know who wouldn't have done that? Hillary Clinton. Kamala Harris. Al Gore. John Kerry.

Add your comment

 

Sunday, May 10, 2026

the 40 days of trumpmas - a surreal serial poem

the 40 days of trumpmas - a surreal serial poem


Remember, remember! The fifth of trumpvember

 the 40 days of trumpmas - a serial poem

 

for 40 days the trumpeter reigns,

his lies and hate on whom he disdains,

but election day will come so soon,

we'll no longer hear the orange baboon;

 

in 39 days full of world wide problems.

we could elect him to get rid of the muslims,

but as he'll rant on trivialities of his presidential life,

what could be worse? - you could be his wife;

 

in 38 days just what will you do?

the donald has said he likes lgbtq,

but as he bullies his women and all his men too,

if youre questioning, what stops him from bullying you?

 

in just 37 days, some people are saying,

(or pleading or hoping or some even praying)

the duke of prunes will dye his forelock purple my friend,

and thus make america grape again,

 

our days are down to just 36,

before our problems the don will fix,

he will on day one do what hes said - true,

he'll wall out our enemies - and fat women too!

 

on the 35th day of trumpmas

yes just seven weeks remain!

will the polls and tallies deliver us

donald with his golden mane?

 

34 days and the vice-pipers have piped,

though pence didnt say why donalds suit shouldnt be striped,

he wouldnt defend his master's string pulling,

to make america great? - who do they think they're fooling?

 

just 33 days till the macho tornado,

unless its blown away by hurricane machado,

with women and voters he has so much to loose.

keep your mouth shut donald (unless youre changing your shoes)

 

32 days and we’ve been hit by the big blowhard,

donald spoke here in fla (oh, we had a hurricane too)

this administration gives us playing the race card, a weak economy, and unemployment

but if you want a job you could be donald’s campaign manager (unless youre a jew)

 

31 days, just a month, remains;

will the donald say hes sorry, and his baser impulses restrain?

or keep blaming bill clinton for our moral demise;

when trump speaks to us, our NO votes must be our replies!

 

election comes this time (in 30 days) each 4 years,

time for praise and tears and fears;

as polls will open in many states,

vote early, please dont vote late!

 

down to 29, just a leap february,

and theres still the donald quite

contrary;

donald donald, how does your garden grow?

quoth the master debater, "with pretty maids groped in a row"

 

just 28 days - later or soon,

and the zombies will rise, led by the big goon;

unless everyone gets a reality inoculation,

i might have to move to canada for a well deserved vacation; 

 

now just 27, less than 4 weeks,

no time for you to say 'yikes!' or 'eeeks!'

obama wants to go to mars and colonize it for man,

lets send trump tomorrow! and colonize it for orangutan!

 

26 days are all that remain,

will our democracy and economy go down the drain?

if we all keep listening to the blustering oaf,

will he give jobs and prosperity? - or just half a loaf

 

25 days - will more women speak?,

of the antics of donald who the presidency seeks,

dating 14 year old girls or groping their mothers,

how did the gop pick him over the others?,

 

24 days - were down to two dozen,

the next woman who speaks just might be your cousin,

or mother or sister, aunt, niece, even daughter,

describing the circumstance in which donald caught her,

 

23 days left and trump doesnt yet have as many accusers,

as cosby, but he assures us that they are all really losers,

sent by bankers or hillary with secret agendas,

to disrupt our election of him - our defender!,

 

22 days and we know charity begins at home,

but donalds attention is so prone to roam,

his gift that disappeared to 911 survivors from his foundation?,

oops! maybe donald spent it on a vacation,

 

21 days and trump says the election may be rig-ly,

if hes not the winner and his total's not big-ly,

tremendously higher than hillary gets,

he warns his supporters may all lose their wits,

 

20 days left and while george zimmerman still walks free,

the man who shot at HIM got 20 years - while trayvon got eternity,

trump wants us to support our cops and maintain law and order,

he'll put all the inner city dwellers in jail, and send the immigrant criminals far across the border,

 

19 days left till we all go to pretend,

to elect someone to lead us, as if on it our lives depend,

but wise man, donald trump, already really knows,

who we really voted for - a wolf in president's clothes?,

 

18 days and we bad hombres demand a rebate,

on the ill feelings left since the comments of one candidate,

the debaters have met in their final grudge match,

but only donald can say from whose hands victory will be snatched,

 

17 days and our government is corrupt with quid pro quo,

did you take latin at wharton? is that how you know?,

donald wants us to fire at them all - the bureaucrats lined up in rows,

and believe me, corruption is a subject. that donald really knows,

 

16 days - lets set term limits on all our office holders,

and put all our women in binders - or maybe in folders,

donalds endless complaints are becoming a sour whine,

have a little cheese with that, from wisconsin, where 

hillary's doing fine,

 

15 days and on stocking covered thighs did linger,

two miniature hands with two thumbs and eight tiny fingers,

they belonged to the donald who believed that he owned,

any thing that he wanted - or anyone he got alone,

 

14 days yes only two weeks,

till the duke of orange assends to the throne he seeks?,

to rule all americans, the strong and the weak?,

and dominate the globe with power that's peak?,

 

the 13th day to go - does that seem unlucky?,

not for donald whos lately been appearing quite plucky,

claiming media, polls, and parties are against him,

and rallying his multitudes with wit waxing dim,

 

on the 12th day of trumpmas donald awoke with a jerk,

promptly fired his latest campaign manager (who considered that a perk),

if youre "AAAfroAAAmurikan" and unemployed i can put you to work,

barked donald the businessman from behind his sly smirk,

 

it's the 11th and engineer casey trump is in the caboose,

i hear some of you saying oh no! what's the use,

our campaign will probably just go off the tracks,

but donald says its ok - cause he's got "the blacks",

 

just ten days left yes only one-zero,

til donald is hoping that he'll be your hero,

as new hillary emails come under investigation,

donald hopes to rename camp david to camp donald for

his vacations,

 

like a cat has nine lives we're left with only 9 days,

till we're subject to donald? and his old wicked ways,

on foreign affairs he says he'll save us from isis,

but his domestic affairs are misogyny and crisis,

 

our days are numbered - yes only eight,

till once again we make america great,

by getting rid of candidates who have nothing to add,

goodbye donald you wont make america sad,

 

just one week to go - its day minus seven,

till america's lifted above - to trumpty dump heaven?,

where for rich folks like donald opportunity abounds,

and we keep the working poor with a wall that surrounds,

 

how the time it does fly its already day 6,

till americans problems the donald will fix,

his solutions begin on trumpday number one,

dont you like them? they'll come at the barrel of a gun,

 

Five days to go, baby, One in five,

No one here gets out alive, now,

david dukes not opposed to all jews,

he backs trump - who are you going to choose?,

 

only 4 days left till the armaged-don,

he'll seize power by the horns once he has won,

and donnie will be what he longs for - a winner,

using the FBI to wreak havoc on hillary the sinner,

 

only three left, just a triad of days,

and the donald his supporters continues to amaze,

with hoopla and folderoll made up in his head,

his winning temperament will leave us all dead,

 

just a pair of days - 2 - till trump paradise,

since these words you're reading please heed my advice,

the creatures that surround us are beginning to bite,

'blacks for trump' fear the Illuminati so lets turn out their light,

 

just a single day left till our thanksgiving,

deliver us from donald and preserve the living,

forget sanity and disgard your misgivings,

but pray hard to your gods that they'll be forgiving,

since we've got the nukes why can't we use'em?,

on the road to 2016 why couldn't we lose HIM?,

 

and trumpmas now has finally come,

the tallies will count up to a winning sum,

unless the earth is struck soon by a cataclysmic comet,

to elect a candidate who just makes you want to vomit?,

we wish you a merry trumpmas at this time each 4 years,

if you have'nt voted you've lost the chance to mitigate your fears,

cause donald duck is ready to lead, forget your crocodile tears,

so you'd better get the vaseline and lubricate your rears!

 

stay informed 3

stay informed 3

https://www.youtube.com/@ElizabethWarren/videos

https://www.youtube.com/@senatorvanhollen/videos

https://www.youtube.com/@SenatorWhitehouse/videos 

https://www.youtube.com/@AOC/videos 

https://www.youtube.com/@BernieSanders/videos

https://www.youtube.com/@SenatorJeffMerkleyYT/videos

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tfPfyxsdcE

 

  


 

Pardoned January 6 rioter sentenced to seven years for Virginia burglary

Pardoned January 6 rioter sentenced to seven years for Virginia burglary

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/10/pardoned-january-6-rioter-sentenced-virginia-burglary 

 

Rioters swarm the US Capitol.
Alam used a helmet to shatter three glass panes in the door through which Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot during the US Capitol attack. Photograph: Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images

Pardoned January 6 rioter sentenced to seven years for Virginia burglary

Zachary Alam spent four years in jail for his role in the Capitol attack before Trump pardoned him in 2025

A convicted participant in the 6 January 2021 US Capitol attack who was pardoned at the start of Donald Trump’s second presidency has been ordered to serve seven years in prison after a jury found him guilty of committing a burglary in Virginia in May 2025.

Zachary Alam, 34, had previously drawn one of the stiffest prison sentences – eight years – for his hand in the violence carried out at the US Capitol in Washington DC by supporters of Trump after his first presidency ended in defeat to Joe Biden after the 2020 White House election.

The judge who sentenced Alam after he was declared guilty in that case mentioned how officers regarded him as “by far the loudest, the most combative and the most violent of the rioters” at the Capitol that day.

He went on to spend nearly four years in prison. But he was unconditionally pardoned along with 1,500 others of his fellow Trump supporters on the first day the Republican president retook office in January 2025, after winning the previous November’s election against his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris.

Henrico county, Virginia, officers alleged that Alam broke into a home just outside the state capital of Richmond on 8 May 2025. After the family living there encountered him, he claimed to be at the home to fix its internet service, and he fled with electronics and jewelry, prosecutors later said, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper.

Police called out to investigate the break-in then found Alam in an adjacent neighborhood, identified him as the intruder and arrested him the next day.

A Henrico jury subsequently found Alam guilty in October of charges of breaking and entering into an occupied home as well as grand larceny. And on Thursday, the county circuit court judge Randall G Johnson sentenced him to two decades in prison on each charge, though he suspended the entirety of the grand larceny punishment and 13 years of the breaking and entering sentence, case records show.

Alam was also told to serve 20 years’ probation on each conviction upon his release from prison.

Local television news outlet WRIC reported that prosecutors presented a recorded telephone call in which Alam expressed his belief that he had done “the right thing” on the day of the Capitol attack. That echoed comments he delivered at his US Capitol attack sentencing hearing: “I believed in my heart I was doing the right thing. Sometimes you have to break the rules to do what’s right.”

Alam was convicted in federal court of eight felonies – including assaulting law enforcement – and three misdemeanors for his role in the attack.

Witnesses said he broke the glass of a door through which insurrectionist Ashli Babbit climbed before she was shot dead by an officer defending the US House chambers.

The Trump administration later reached a $5m settlement to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his slain supporter’s family.

At Alam’s US Capitol attack trial, prosecutors outlined how he was among the first of a mob that entered the building from its west lawn and hurled items at police from a balcony.

He also used a helmet to shatter three glass panes in the door through which Babbitt was fatally shot before leaving while urging others to come back later with guns.

A statement from Henrico county’s top prosecutor, the Democratic congressional candidate Shannon Taylor, to WRIC contended that the pardon which Trump afforded Alam “emboldened him to believe the law does not apply to him”. However, Taylor’s statement alluded to how the president’s clemency was powerless with respect to the Virginia state charges for which Alam was convicted in October.

The arrest in Henrico which culminated in Alam’s sentencing on Thursday was believed to the be first post-clemency incidence of charges in connection with a new crime for a pardoned US Capitol attacker.

A few other Capitol attack participants have since been arrested for crimes committed after their being pardoned.

Related stories

  • Capitol rioter pardoned by Trump given life sentence for molesting two children

  • Pardoned January 6 rioter pleads guilty to threatening Hakeem Jeffries

  • January 6 rioter who was pardoned by Trump arrested for child sexual abuse

  • January 6 rioter who was pardoned by Trump arrested for burglary

  • Pardoned January 6 rioter said ‘I’m shooting myself’ before Indiana deputy fatally shot him

  • Pardoned January 6 rioter on run from solicitation of minor charge arrested

  • Pardoned January 6 attacker sentenced to 10 years for fatal drunk-driving crash

  • Pardoned January 6 rioter faces unresolved charges of soliciting a minor

More from News

  • US-Israel war on Iran
    Iran responds to US proposal as drones hit Gulf nations and Netanyahu warns war ‘not over’

  • World Cup
    Fifa World Cup matches face heightened terror risk in US amid Iran conflict

  • Iran
    Nobel laureate’s smuggled memoir details beatings and neglect in Iranian prisons

  • Russia
    Vladimir Putin suggests Ukraine war is ‘coming to an end’ and wants talks with Gerhard Schröder

  • Hantavirus
    Americans onboard hantavirus cruise ship to be repatriated to US

  • Baby formula
    Health advocates warn government’s claims of baby formula safety contradict data

  • Northern Ireland
    Research sheds light on GI’s murder of seven-year-old girl in Northern Ireland in 1944

  • Premier League
    West Ham United v Arsenal: Premier League

  • Hungary
    Rhythm nation: politician’s viral dance moves mark new, optimistic era for Hungary