Trump’s Bid to Seize Polling Power Echoes a Century of Election Denial
TL;DR
Richardson argues Trump’s push to federalize elections fits a long history of election-denial rhetoric, tracing echoes from 1890s North Carolina and the Wilmington coup to today’s claims about undocumented voters; she notes Texas’s seat flip helped by Latino voters and a California redistricting ruling that could offset GOP maps, and warns that MAGA tactics threaten democracy by delegitimizing election outcomes.
- February 4, 2026 Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson | Substack
- Steve Bannon calls for Trump to deploy ICE and military troops to polling sites Politico
- Senate Democrat ‘greatly afraid’ of ICE being used for voter intimidation The Hill
- Steve Bannon calls for immigration agents at polling sites during midterms The Guardian
- Steve Bannon says ICE will ‘surround the polls’ as Trump doubles down on taking over elections Democracy Docket
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Read on Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson | Substack