I am no longer convinced the midterm elections will even take place.
I am not convinced martial law won’t be declared. I am not convinced ICE won’t be dispatched to minority voting districts. I am not convinced every vote will be collected and counted without interference from the government in power.
And I have reasons to worry.
On August 31, Donald Trump extended a national emergency concerning foreign interference in elections. The order itself does not cancel voting. But it comes as election officials prepare for possible federal interference and voting rights groups brace for the presence of ICE near polling places. The November 3 elections are 23 days away. These are extraordinary circumstances for an ordinary American election.
And I suspect millions of Americans would welcome an excuse to cancel it. Because I don’t think half the country wants this election.
I think they know what an awful president Donny Dickhead has been. I think they know what his policies have cost them. And I think they cannot afford the repercussions of their own stupidity.
The evidence is in their grocery bills, in their bank accounts, in their monthly budgets.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll has Trump’s approval at 32 percent, with Democrats leading Republicans by 7 points among registered voters. Another Reuters/Ipsos survey found that 78 percent of Americans blame Trump’s policies for rising costs, including most Republicans.
Think about it. The cost of living. ICE invading neighborhoods. Tariffs. A war with Iran driving up energy prices. Those are consequences Americans can measure.
And the political consequences could be just as substantial: House control, subpoena power, investigations that could expose decisions the administration would rather keep buried.
But I don’t think millions of Trump supporters want to confront that. I think they would rather find someone else to blame.
I think what drives too many Republicans is this: It does not matter how much they are hurting, as long as the libs are hurting more.
That is punishment as policy.
Your grocery bill doubles? Fine, provided somebody else’s is worse. Your neighborhood becomes a federal enforcement zone? Fine, provided immigrants suffer more. Your country enters another war? Fine, provided your political enemies lose.
The cruelty becomes the reward.
I cannot prove half the country would support canceling an election. No credible poll says that. Plenty of Republicans would oppose such a thing.
But I wonder how many would object if Trump announced that national security required “extraordinary measures.” How many would demand proof? How many would applaud?
Trump already tried to overturn one election he lost.
Now, consider November 3. Imagine ICE outside polling places in heavily Latino neighborhoods. Imagine federal authorities demanding access to ballots. Imagine an emergency declared days before voting.
These are fears, not established plans. Federal law restricts such actions. Laws require enforcement, and enforcement requires people willing to stand up.
An election imposes accountability, but accountability means admitting mistakes, and I suspect too many Americans would rather sacrifice an election than admit they made one.
I hope November 3 proves me completely wrong. I hope every American who wants to vote gets to vote. I hope every lawful ballot gets counted. I hope the losers accept the results.
But I have never been less certain.
I used to worry about who would win an American election. Now I worry about whether America will allow one.
