MS NOW's Joe Scarborough sounded the alarm over President Donald Trump's latest "crazy" scheme to avoid accountability.
The 79-year-old president told former Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino’s on his podcast that Republicans should nationalize elections and take them over in at least 15 states where he falsely claimed there had been fraud. The "Morning Joe" host slammed his plot as "blatantly unconstitutional" Tuesday.
"It's really is hard to keep count of all the crazy things that are coming out of the White House right now, just the bizarre things that have been coming out of the White House over the past three, four, five, six months," Scarborough said.
"Whether you're talking about tearing down the [East] Wing or taking over the Kennedy Center and then having Ric Grenell and him run into the ground so much that they have to shut it down for two years because they've so destroyed the financial base of that institution. In just a few short months, we could talk about everything – Greenland, we could talk about seizing oil in Venezuela. We could talk about trying to destroy the NATO alliances. We could talk about all the billions and billions of dollars his family's raking in right now. We could talk about all of that, but it seems to me, well, all of that is critical.
"This right here is what I think people who actually love democracy and love America like I love America, this is one of those moments where the president's trying to do something clearly, clearly unconstitutional.
"Of course, we can't count on the Supreme Court to do anything, but I think they maybe they play pickleball, maybe they built an indoor pickleball court, and maybe that's why John Roberts wants everybody to sign NDAs in the Supreme Court, which is really bizarre. But I don't know what they're doing in the Supreme Court. But while the president is talking this way about doing unconstitutional things, it seems to me this is a really great place for everybody who loves America and loves American democracy and loves free elections to focus, because this actually is one of those five-alarm fires."
Co-host Jonathan Lemire agreed the dizzying pace of the Trump administration's assault on democracy had accelerated in recent months, but he said the president's intention to take over elections should register as more than a blip on the radar.
"There sure seems to be a sense that he's laying the groundwork to interfere with 2026 and 2028," Lemire said. "We just heard him in that interview. I'm going to, it's worth reading the quote again. He says, quote, 'The Republicans should say, we want to take over, we should take over the voting in at least 15 places, the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting' in 15 places, likely swing states, important districts that could determine the House or the Senate, or in the 2028, the presidential [election]."
Trump sent his director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to take part in an FBI raid on an election hub in Fulton County, Georgia, where he has falsely claimed there was fraud in 2020, and Lemire said the situation was "extremely dangerous."
"This is the storyline is what's going to happen with the midterms, because Donald Trump knows if Democrats win even one house [of Congress], they're going to have the power of the subpoena," Lemire said. "They're going to be able to run investigations into him and his family and his administration. They could theoretically impeach him again for a third time, which is something that really bothers him. You know, he would be held accountable, and right now there's real fear, real fear that he and his administration are going to find a way, many ways, perhaps to put their thumb on the scale. There will be elections. The question is whether they be free and fair."
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