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When US President Donald Trump sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month, the main topic was Russia's war in Ukraine and the prospects for its end. But at some point, Trump diverted the conversation to domestic American politics.
Zelensky noted that in Ukraine the law does not allow holding elections during a state of war. Trump responded with irony:
“So you say that during war there can be no choice. Let me tell you this: three and a half years from now, does that mean that if we happen to be at war with someone, there will be no choice? Oh, that’s a good thing.”
The statement sparked laughter in the room, but the president jokingly added that he could not wait to see "what fake news would do with this comment."
However, Democrats in the US are not taking it in stride. A growing number of them are warning that Trump could take steps to nullify or manipulate the election in order to preserve his grip on power. Although he has not explicitly said so and last month declared that he would “probably not” seek a third term, which is anyway prohibited by the Constitution, Trump has repeatedly floated similar ideas and taken actions considered anti-democratic. His moves to take more control over the voting process and to use the military inside American territory have raised serious concerns.
A federal judge even declared this week that Trump is, in effect, "creating a national police force with the president as its chief."
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said Sunday that Trump's threat to send troops to cities like Chicago is part of this plan.
"The other goal is to stop the 2026 election or take control of it," Pritzker said on CBS's Face the Nation.
“He will simply pretend that there is a problem with the elections, and then he has troops on the ground that he can take control of if he is allowed to do so.”
Pritzker, who is also seen as a figure with ambitions for the White House, compared the situation to how Adolf Hitler transformed Germany into a dictatorship in 53 days.
“The plan is the same,” he said. “It’s the media blackout, the creation of chaos that justifies military intervention. These are scenarios that have happened in history, and Donald Trump is simply following that plan.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom has floated a similar theory. Asked about his plans to run in 2028, he cast doubt on whether the election would be fair, if it were held at all.
Newsom said that the new domestic law passed by Trump has made Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the most funded federal agency in the US, turning it into the president's "private police force." He predicted that federal agents would be sent to polling places and that Trump would attempt to suspend the election altogether. /CNN
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