Senator Schiff warns Trump’s call to ‘nationalise’ US elections could undermine democracy

Washington: US Senator Adam Schiff warned that President Donald Trump’s calls to “nationalize” US elections could undermine democracy at home and damage America’s standing abroad, as the country moves toward midterm elections.

Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Schiff said Trump appeared prepared to interfere in the vote if Republicans lose.

“I think he’ll intend to try to subvert the elections,” Schiff said. “He will do everything he can to suppress the vote.”

Schiff said Americans should take the warning seriously. He pointed to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. “We saw him try to the point of insurrection to overturn the 2020 election,” he said.

Schiff said Trump’s recent actions and rhetoric suggest a similar approach ahead of November. “He’s basically telling us he intends to interfere in this coming election,” he said.

The California Democrat said the issue goes beyond US domestic politics. He warned that repeated claims of election fraud weaken confidence in American democracy and are closely watched overseas.

Schiff raised alarm over the involvement of the Director of National Intelligence in an FBI operation that seized 2020 election materials in Georgia. He said the intelligence chief has no role in domestic election matters.

“Her job is to oversee the work of the intelligence agencies outward focusing on foreign threats,” Schiff said, “not to create a threat to our domestic tranquility by interfering in elections.”

He called the episode “unprecedented” and questioned why authorities revisited an election that had already been reviewed multiple times. “Why is the FBI conducting a raid five years after the fact when there were three recounts in Georgia?” he asked.

Schiff said such actions appeared designed to send a warning. “The message is, we will not tolerate or accept an election that we lose,” he said.

He also linked election concerns to immigration enforcement. Schiff said lawmakers must ensure that federal agents do not intimidate voters. “We don’t have ICE agents at polling places,” he said, adding that elections must be “free” and “fair.”

Schiff criticized Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville’s claim that some elections were “bogus,” which Trump later shared online. “This is just the latest iteration of the big lie,” Schiff said.

He accused Republicans of laying the groundwork to dispute election results if they lose. “They keep telling the American people that somehow American elections are untrustworthy,” he said.

Schiff rejected proposals requiring proof of citizenship or photo identification to vote. He said such measures would suppress turnout. “It’s part of the broader disenfranchisement effort,” he said.

Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, appearing separately on the program, condemned a Trump-linked post that used racist imagery of former President Barack Obama. Lawler called it “wrong and incredibly offensive” and said it should never have been shared.

Schiff said protecting democracy will ultimately fall to voters, not politicians or courts. “The last, best hope for our democracy is going to be the American people,” he said.

For international audiences, including in India, the debate underscores how internal US political battles can have wider consequences, shaping global views of American democratic stability and leadership.

IANS