President Donald Trump said Republicans should “take over the voting” in at least “15 places,” repeating his false claims about the 2020 election during a podcast interview on Monday, Feb. 2 with former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino.
“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,’” Trump, 79, said, alleging without evidence that several states where Joe Biden was certified the winner were “crooked.” Trump did not identify which “15 places” he was referring to.
Trump also linked his remarks about federalizing elections to his immigration agenda, arguing that Republicans must carry out his mass-deportation plan to remove immigrants who lack U.S. citizenship.
“If Republicans don’t get them out, you will never win another election as a Republican,” he said.
Under the U.S. Constitution, election administration is primarily handled by the states. The “Elections Clause” in Article 1, Section 4 gives states authority to set the “time, place and manner” of federal elections, while Congress can also regulate federal election rules. The president does not have constitutional authority to unilaterally change how elections are run.
Republicans have historically emphasized states’ rights and supported limiting federal power, a position that contrasts with calls to “nationalize” election administration.
Since 2020, Trump has repeatedly questioned election outcomes in states that allow mail-in voting or do not require voter identification, even though people around him have said they saw no evidence of widespread fraud.
In 2023, Trump told NBC News’ Meet the Press that he had been warned his claims were wrong before he was indicted for allegedly attempting to overturn the election results.
“It was my decision, but I listened to some people,” Trump said at the time.
During that interview, Trump acknowledged that some people in his orbit disagreed with his assertions, but he said he continued to believe the election was unfair.
“When I added it all up, the election was rigged,” Trump told Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker, adding: “You know who I listen to? Myself. I saw what happened.”
Trump’s latest comments came about a week after federal authorities searched an elections office in Fulton County, Ga., as part of a Justice Department effort involving the seizure of election records and an investigation into alleged voter fraud.
The FBI previously described the search as a “court-authorized law enforcement action” and said the “investigation into this matter is ongoing,” declining to provide further details.
A law enforcement official told Reuters the investigation concluded on Wednesday, Jan. 28, adding that agents were looking for computers and ballots believed to be at the facility in an effort to find evidence of “possible election interference.”
Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. criticized the search during a press conference, saying that because voter records had been denied in a civil lawsuit, authorities instead executed a criminal search warrant.
“The criminal search warrant is under seal, so we don’t even know who the target of the investigation is,” Arrington said. “This is nothing but sowing the seeds of distrust. This is a full-frontal attack on democracy.”
