Donald Trump is attempting to interfere with the 2024 U.S. midterms by launching a legal challenge over Alaska’s Senate election, where two candidates share the name Dan Sullivan. This move, aimed at creating confusion and suggesting election fraud, is widely seen as a calculated effort to undermine public trust in electoral outcomes. The Alaska Supreme Court has already ruled such a situation is legally valid, and the lawsuit lacks merit under established precedent. This action reflects a broader pattern of Trump’s strategy—using fear, misinformation, and legal threats to challenge election results, especially in states where he does not win. Critics note that the tactics, including demands for electoral rolls and anti-Muslim rhetoric, are designed to intimidate voters and create a perception of systemic fraud. While federal courts have consistently rejected such challenges, the political climate remains volatile, with a significant portion of the public susceptible to fear-based narratives. In response, Democratic leaders are uniting with coordinated legal and operational strategies to defend election integrity. Notably, Barack Obama’s recent campaign presence is being strategically leveraged to mobilize key voter groups, particularly in swing states like Michigan, where his credibility and ability to connect with communities offer a counterpoint to Trump’s divisive messaging. Despite these efforts, the ongoing legal and political pressure signals a deepening crisis of trust in American democracy, highlighting the need for vigilance, transparency, and strong institutional safeguards.
"Trump is trying to overturn the midterm election before it's even happened. In Alaska, two candidates have the same name, and that's all the excuse Trump needs to try and block a result he doesn't like." "I have some views on if that's going to happen, but Cady, this is part of the pattern. States across the country will be slammed with lawsuits if the whiner in chief doesn't win. Just watch." Striking a very different tone Barack Obama out on the campaign, he was roasting Trump and rolling out the hits. He was good. Maybe too good. My question is, are the Democrats still in Obama's shadow? "This episode is brought to you by Yetoro." A tariff, a spending plan, a regulatory change. It can all start just as the first line of a speech. But it sets in motion things that can reach far beyond Washington and unfold for years to come. "That's right, Cady. Mark has moved on expectations. Not just events, investors are constantly weighing. What a decision could mean for companies, sectors, and the wider economy." So Yetoro is an investing platform where you can access a wide range of markets and explore how political and economic developments can affect them. "You could also learn from the global community of investors and see how people around the world are interpreting the same news." As with all investing, your capital is at riskcetoro.com/tripus for full terms. I want to pre-nup, Cady. Let me just explain this to you, because Trump is a total genius. He's got a pre-nup going with the democracy. So listen, if it doesn't work out in the contract, I want to redo. I'm just trying to explain what he's doing. He's found a way to contest an election before anyone is voted. We'll have a democracy, but so long as the result is the result I want. That's effectively what his attorney general went on television and said, "This weekend, we just want to make sure that nobody's confused and if a Republican doesn't win, then let's do a redo." He's got a lot of marriages, Cady. I feel like he's taken the pre-nup idea and he's brought it into the democracy. He's run this playbook before and he's hopes it's going to work again. So here's what's happened, guys. Trump has ordered the Justice Department to file a lawsuit to block the certification of Alaska's Senate election. You'll remember we spoke about the Alaska Senate election a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, Trump wants to block the results of that election if the Republican incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan loses. The lawsuit was filed on Thursday. It centers around the presence. You'll remember this from our episode of a second candidate who is also named Dan Sullivan on the ballot, who is running not for any of party affiliation. So on the ballot, Alaska voters are going to have to choose between Dan Sullivan, Dan Sullivan, and Mary Peltola. And basically what the Justice Department is saying is, this is very confusing to voters. If Senator Dan Sullivan, the Republican incumbent doesn't win, we think it will have been because voters are confused. They were misled by this guy who is now being called by Republicans' decoy, Dan. And we want the election result overturned if we think there was confusion. The Alaska Supreme Court has already ruled on this case back in June and did rule the Dan Sullivan, the retired teacher, otherwise known as decoy, Dan, which is a Republican talking point. Don't worry, guys. I get that. They have ruled. The Supreme Court has ruled that he is allowed to run and that this is all legitimate and that if somebody wants to run and they happen to have the same name, fair game, they are allowed to run in the election. But Anthony, here's what I don't understand. And I reached out to a lawyer, Norm Eisen, you know, Norm Eisen, from democracy defenders who's running a lot of the lawsuits because this is part of a patent, guys. This is not just Alaska. We're kicking off with Alaska, but we are going to give you the whole spiel on how many suits there are around the country where the Justice Department aka the White House at this point is trying to interfere in the elections to lay the groundwork for legal challenges afterwards. Anyway, Norm Eisen, who is doing sterling work in trying to counter this, says this is a totally frivolous lawsuit. It can never win. All they're trying to do is just make voters think that there is something fishy going on. But I thought, Anthony, in your wonderful election system here in the United States, it was the states that ran the election. So if the Alaska State apparatus, election apparatus, says this is okay, and the Supreme Court says this is okay, isn't it okay? Well, I mean, that's exactly right. I mean, there's no way they'll win this court case because the precedent is grounded in 200 years of whatever the state and local authorities say effectively cures the ballot. Now, interestingly enough, and this is sort of bizarre, but in 2014, this dance Sullivan was on the ballot with another dance Sullivan. So the dance Sullivan that is now the current senator, he won a seat in 2014. And there was another dance Sullivan on the ballot. He just happened to be running for lieutenant governor. Not the teacher. Not the teacher. How many dance Sullivan are there in Alaska? The court case is literally already over. I understand what Trump is doing. He wants to ring the bell for his dance Sullivan. He wants to try to tell people that this is unfair. It's all in that Putin's sleeve as well. I have to undermine our own elections. I understand that's on my checklist. And I have to tell people that our elections are false and it would have to be the moral equivalency between the United States and places like Russia. I understand all of that, but that's not going to work here, Caddy. Now, I want to just go to the polls for a second because you know, you love these polls. I love these polls. New York Times, Siena Paul had Sullivan up 47, 45, okay, and then it flipped over. And now, okay, she's up. Mary Peltola. And she looks like she's going to win handily, even if there's 2% of the people that vote for a retired teacher, Dan Sullivan, she's going to win by a very wide margin in the state. So what is Todd Blanche going to do, Caddy? He's going to try to sue and block her from standing as the senator. And what court, you think the Supreme Court is going to side with him? Is that. Actually, the Supreme Court so far has not sided with the administration when they have tried to intervene in the electoral process. I think what they are trying to do, and I can't get over the fact that there are multiple Dan Sullivan's who have run for multiple offices in Alaska. That's just too juicy. I don't know. If you're born Dan Sullivan in Alaska, don't try and think of becoming a fireman or a doctor because you're going to become a politician. Clearly that's the message. I think what they are trying to do, and it was a little bit the playbook in 2022, and it was a little bit the playbook in 2020, but particularly in those 2022 midterms, is they're trying to raise all of these legal doubts now that they know have not a chance of standing. I mean, I don't know if you saw Todd Blanche. He was on CNN this weekend. A couple of very combative interviews in which he said that he wanted to stop a fraud and corruption in Alaska. I think the key word there is fraud, they're trying to say preemptively, before people have even gone to the polls, that the wrong result must be a fraudulent result. It is the old Trump playbook he used to do it right from 2016. Don't trust the press. Don't trust the election results if we don't win it must mean they're fraud. I think what they're trying to do is lay the groundwork so that if there is then an election result they don't like, they can come in post facto and say, look, we told you beforehand there was going to be fraud, but here's the problem. The fact that the White House and the Justice Department, because they are synonymous at the moment, are saying there is fraud, does not mean there is fraud, but will it be enough to get a whole load of mega supporters, Anthony, as they did in 2020, to believe a big lie that the election was stolen? I think that is what's worrying about all of these cases and will run through them, is that you can make people believe something in this environment just by saying it's true, even if it's not true. Listen, I think the answer to that is yes. People will definitely believe that I guess where I'm going with this is the Lisa Murkowski, the Republicans in Alaska, Andy Alaska Supreme Court, set, cured, ratified the ballot. So there's nowhere to go with this thing. I love her reaction by the way, did you like her reaction this weekend? Tell me what it was. She has criticized the DOJ's lawsuit, saying, Alaskans don't need any help voting for their preferred candidates. I mean, basically she's turned around to Trump and said, do you, are you trying to say Alaskans are stupid, that we actually don't understand the difference between these two candidates? So she's criticized the latest suit. Well, Trump says yes, no, no, Trump was on the campaign stump this weekend saying that people don't know, he should be called Senator Dan Sullivan. People don't know what the word incumbent means, okay? That's what he said. Now, maybe they don't, I don't know, but I'm just saying to you that this is a test balloon and this is a warning shot for everybody, okay? If you can freeze certification over a name and guess what, Caddy? You can freeze it over anything. So this is a big test balloon for Trump and he's lost roughly 60 cases since 2020 and the judges have not gotten friendly around this stuff. So he did challenge the 2020
electoral process and he got smoked in those cases and so he'll get smoked here, but what I don't like is the fact that we're going to have to go through this process. You know, I don't like the fact that we're going to be talking about this situation and we're going to be talking about, "Catty, trust me and you know this, push back if you think I'm wrong." There'll be a good 20% of this country that says, "Oh, that was rigged. Oh, that was not the right outcome." I think you're right. And then Mission accomplished for Donald Trump. I think you're right. And I think he is also relying on people around the country who are allies of his, who he has backed, either in the federal government, who he's put into place in the federal government, in the justice department, or who is backed in states to win elections. And they are people in key positions who control the electoral process. So for example, in Alaska, the division of elections for the state of Alaska is overseen by the state's lieutenant governor. The state's lieutenant governor is a Republican. Her name is Nancy Dolstrom. She ran against Mary Peltola for her house seat. So she has a combative relationship from the past. She's not a neutral election observer. In many countries, these electoral processes are seen by people who are neutral. I think it's important for people to understand that in the states, they are seen by partisans, whether they are Democrats or whether they are Republicans. And I remember going down to Arizona in 2022 before the last big midterms of this nature. And interviewing the guy who Trump wanted to back as Secretary of State, Mark Fincham, who was an out and out election denier. He denied that Trump had lost the 2020 election. Well, Trump has wanted those people. And the Republicans have been much more savvy up until now than the Democrats in thinking we don't just need the senators. We don't just need the governors. We don't just need the president. We need all of these other people who control the electoral processes in these states who are friendly to us. So that if we go back, and you know this, from the 2000 election in Florida, how much it mattered having people who were friendly to one side or the other, these are amazingly partisan processes in the states. And that makes them susceptible to partisan intervention. And you could see the DOJ going back to Nancy Dolström after the election result, if Dan Sullivan has lost and saying, okay, right, your head of the elections, you can kind of find a way now to massage the result or recount certain votes or take teacher Dan Sullivan's votes and put them in Senator Dan Sullivan's column. I think that's what they are, they are trying to do that this time around, aren't they? Of course. But you have to remember of legal precedent, two state courts said that the ballot is cured and the ballot is proper. So you would have to have this ridiculous novel theory accepted by the judge in a certification lawsuit that says, well, yeah, that this two state courts says it was okay to be on the ballot, but now it's not okay to be on the ballot. And I'm going to revoke the certification. I mean, we're going or ban, man. I mean, we're organizing. Okay. I mean, I think it'll be really bad if we're doing that. I'm sitting here and I'm just trying to remind people whatever you think he's incapable of doing, he's capable of doing or trying. He's capable of trying because I do think the courts, I agree with you, the courts will throw this out. But the country will have to go through that process that we went through back in 2020 where you have confusion. In confusion, there is room for shenanigans and there is room for disruption. And I think we will, I think we are looking at a period after these midterms unless the results are very decisive where there will be challenges. There's three words in this country that resonate with at least a fifth of the country. Stop the steel. He has manufactured this and he has perpetuated this. And there is a group of people that feel that this is part of our story now. This is not just about Alaska though. Let's have a quick run through of the other things that Trump is trying to do because some of them came up over the course of this weekend. Of course, he tried to get the US Postal Service to screen mail-in ballots to make sure they were going one way or the other disrupt basically the mail-in ballot process. The Justice Department has sued 30 states trying to get hold of the electoral rolls. Now the electoral rolls contain sensitive information, people's addresses, the last four digits of their social security numbers, their date of birth, basically it's your identity. And the Justice Department is saying we want those electoral rolls. So what? So they can review them. So they can check everybody's voting which way. I mean, all the kind of stuff that feels very authoritarian in a country where states control the electoral process. There was a case this weekend in Utah. They were trying deep-ready Utah. The DOJ was trying to get hold of the electoral rolls. That was thrown out just on Friday. They are trying to send people from the Homeland Security Investigators to find evidence of illegal voting where in places where there is no evidence. They've got a case in California where the Justice Department says it has a list of 20,000 people who are non-citizens who are registered to vote. They won't say where the list has come from. That is being challenged. I spoke to Norm Eisen about that again. He's the group that is challenging that. There are multiple ways, Anthony, which they are already laying the groundwork. And I think that's what's happening here. They are laying the groundwork for legal challenges after the election in case things don't go their way. Yeah, but there's intimidation there. There's a chilling effect. They're saying something that they know isn't true. We're trying to find non-citizens that are registered so that we can claim that these elections are fraudulent. Trump is then saying from the podium, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, Cassie. Millions. You've heard him say it. And yet, every time DHS or anytime someone goes into the system and cures and certifies the system, they can't find the people. There was one situation where they had 185 people that they thought were illegal. Then they did a double audit and then they realized, wait a minute, we got that wrong. They had it down to zero. And so now this is doing two things. I want to scare you. You may be eligible to vote, but I want to scare you. And I don't want you to show up to vote, particularly if you're not going to vote for me. And then the other thing I want to do is I want to send a message to everybody. Things can and will get rough from the American government related to the electoral process. And you know, listen, it's absolutely disgusting. And Todd Blanche, who again has aged, Cassie, I mean, this guy has gone into like an aging chamber, okay? I mean, he's gone from young Biff and back to the future to old Biff in like 13 seconds, because he knows he's ripping up his soul. And he's ripping up everything that he learned about ethics and law school and his life to do the bidding of Donald Trump so that he could say he is the attorney general of the United States. And by the way, the DOJ is a emerging, competent lawyers. I heard of another one over the course of the weekend, a friend of mine who worked the DOJ for years in this kind of a operation. And she quit because it just can't do it. You can't because they know they're being asked to do things that are illegal. And they actually want to stand up for the rule of law, not the rule of diss law. But I do think the Democrats are more coordinated. They did learn from 2020 and 2022. They've got attorneys, generals and the secretaries of state who in many states are the people who administer election processes. They are now getting together. They are holding tabletop exercises to strategize about how to counter any kind of federal intervention before and after. So I think at least the Democrats have kind of put their head up against above the parapet and realized we actually have to take this seriously. And we have to be ready for the kind of onslaught that will come in 2020. They were caught totally surprised by this. Let me say something that is obvious to me and hopefully is obvious to everybody, but I think it's worth restating. I want to go through the list. I'm Todd Blanche. And if you're a black or brown person living in a certain area, I want to delete you from the list. Okay? And I want to wrongly delete you and wrongly question your right to vote and take you off the list. That's why they're trying to get the votes to rolls. That's why you think they're trying to get the votes to rolls. People have to understand that hey, hey, hey, you're not voting for me. I'm taking you off the list. Okay? And you know, it's like, okay, what did Joe Stalin say? It's not who votes, who counts the votes. But you don't want in this case is if I can stop you from voting, it's like me counting the votes. The courts are standing up even in deep red Utah with a judge who was appointed by Donald Trump. They have thrown out those challenges. So 27 out of 30 states where the DOJ is trying to get those lists to do with those lists, whatever it is they want to do. The judges are saying no stop. This is not the way democracy works in America. The courts, the courts, they're the last line and they're holding, but it's hard. They're under pressure. They're under a lot of strain. Okay, we're going to take a break, come back and talk about the man the Democrats love back out on the campaign trail. (dramatic music)
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Welcome back to the rest of the politics US with me, Anthony Scaramucci, and Cadi-Cadi. Obama is 65. He's out of office nearly a decade. And he still has better material than anybody on the Democratic payroll. And just for me, the Cheesecake Factory line. I'm a little upset with myself, but I didn't think of that myself. I was going with Liberace. I was not going with Saddam Hussein making a Cheesecake Factory. But it's all there, Gadi. And I got to tell you, I'm impressed with the president. And I'm impressed with how he understands the fight. And I'm going to stipulate this and please push back. But I think he understands the fight better than any other Democrat who I've listened to. Okay, explain that a little bit more. What do you mean by that? He understands the fight better. You are fighting against an authoritarian white person who wants to call guys like Elsaiyad Jihadis. He said it a hundred times this weekend. He's a full-on racist. If you're a Muslim in this country, you blow up buildings. That's literally what he's trying to do. Think of these young Muslim kids where they have this red-faced, orange-haired lunatic. All they're trying to do is get ahead and live the American dream. And they've got this red-faced, orange lunatic telling them that they're terrorists. And he said yesterday, people should really listen to it. They try to do it to me. Okay? Barak Hussein. Right? He's always got to say Hussein, like Saddam Hussein, Barak Hussein Obama. And he said yesterday, because I watched this whole speech, he said, "Guys, you've got to understand what we're up against. You've got to understand the disfigurement." Okay? This is KKK like stuff. We're a neccessize to it, but this is KKK like stuff. He's up there, pleading, "You're a G-Hotest, a doctor who got the Democratic nomination in the state of Michigan, whatever you think of him." Okay? He's not a G-Hotest, Caddy, but that's how the president of the United States is talking about him. And Obama is trying to wake people up by telling them where the fight is. Now, you know, what's interesting about this whole thing is L.C.I.E.D. wrote in The Huffington Post in 2012 that Obama was not the right choice. He wasn't the wrong choice, but he said he didn't think he was the guy. And here's another thing I respect about Obama. No problem. I'm still showing up because I'm the bigger person. You think Trump would do that? Trump had dinner with Bill Marr, the poor 70-year-old comedian. And Bill Marr was actually praising him and brought Caroline Levin on the show because I watched Bill, and you know, I do his show, and Trump's lighting him up with a 1,300-word screed last night, which was completely unhinged. So anyway, I'm just saying calling him a G-Hotest, L.C.I.E.D. is the business of fear. And Obama speaks about the business of optimism. And these Democrats better wake up and spend a little bit more time with the former president. So that's why I thought was such an extraordinary contrast over the course of the weekend. There was Obama doing some of his kind of hope and change thing. And I know some people feel disillusioned by that and he didn't deliver, and the country became more polarized and more partisan during the Obama presidency and after the Obama presidency. And then we got, and I think you and I both agreed with this. He hates people to say this, but we got Donald Trump partly in reaction to Barack Obama because people, you know, you get the first black president and some people are going to kick back about that around the country. But just look at the two people over the course of this weekend. There is Donald Trump calling Abdel El Sayed a Muslim brotherhood, G-Hotest, who hates Jews and blacks. I mean, he is going for maximum fear. You look at his truth social feed over the course of the weekend. It is one anti-Muslim post after another. I mean, he went on a total rant about reposting all of this anti-Muslim stuff and then the Bill Marthing. Well, that was just bizarre. But you really saw it over the course of the weekend. My question to you, Anthony, and my phone was kind of lighting up with Democrats who was sort of giddy. There's Barack Obama back out there. He's so good. But a couple of those Democrats were also saying to me, "Oh my God, he's so good. Why don't we have anyone like him?" And I think he has done two things this weekend. One, he may help get out the black vote in Detroit. He is really their best shot at getting out, being targeted to get out specific communities in specific states. Everybody loves the feel good stuff. Everybody still loves Barack Obama, even though he's a little grayer now, but they still love him. And you could see that in the crowds. But he needs to be used in a very specific way, what I was hearing from Democratic Strategies over the weekend, to make sure that he's targeting specific communities. They have a problem with the black vote. And there's a reason that Trump said that El Sayed hates Jews and blacks, because those are the populations that El Sayed does have a problem getting out to vote. They didn't vote for him in the numbers that they would normally vote for a Democrat in the primary. So you get Barack Obama out there to target them. But he has reminded Democrats, "Oh shit, we don't have another Barack Obama at the moment. Barack Obama is the best natural politician I've seen in America probably since Bill Clinton. He was a total natural. He was the best campaigner. Certainly, I've followed both of his campaigns. And he was the best campaigner hands down. Nobody gives a speech like Barack Obama. Nobody relates with a crowd like Barack Obama does. I mean, maybe Trump did it in a weird way. But the Democrats, I think, are now sort of thinking in a different, less intellectual. But yes, you know, you listen, Trump is a beast. Yeah, I got to give him credit for being the beast that he is. But the nuance here in Michigan, I think, is very important, because they ran pro-Stevens ads in Detroit, okay? This was the adversary to El Sayed in the primaries who was the more moderate candidate. And they had Obama praising Stevens in those ads. And so she beat El Sayed in Wayne County, 51 to 45. So hear me out for a second, they used Obama's face to beat El Sayed in that county. They now got to bring Obama back to win Detroit for El Sayed. And that's the whole race, basically, in one sentence in my mind. And I think Obama is going to do that for El Sayed. And I, you know, I don't know who's going to win it. It's too close for me to call it. But that's the stuff that's got to get done in the last couple of days here. Well, I told you, I came back a little more skeptical about Michigan than I went up there, because I heard about these problems with the black voters that El Sayed wasn't managing to do it. But, you know, it's a worth a little reality check with Barack Obama. He did campaign in Michigan in 2024 for Kamala Harris, and she did not win Michigan. So he has fairy dust, but he doesn't always get the results. Now, he did manage to help get Alyssa Slottkin, the Democratic Senator who was running in 2024 across the line. And he did manage to get Ruben Gaiego in Arizona across the line, Senate Democratic Senator. And he did manage to get Tammy Baldwin, Democratic Senator and Wisconsin across the line. So he couldn't get Kamala Harris across the line. Even Barack Obama, with those big rallies at the end of the 2024 race, could not get Kamala Harris into the White House. But he has managed to get other Democrats to win. So I guess the question is, can he do it this time around for Abdel El Sayed? I think Abdel El Sayed has a specific issue, problem that Barack Obama can help with. And maybe that's where you use Barack Obama. Maybe that's the good strategic move. Yeah, listen, I mean, let's hope, let's hope, for me, I want these guys crushed. They got it. The only way we're going to cure the Republican Party is by killing Maga. So I want these guys crushed. Should I just go to Sherrod Brown for a second, because I find this to be the story we spoke about last week. Yeah, exactly. But it turned out the October surprise was the Rama Swami ad where he did probably the lowest of the low for even Maga people have been turned off by it. He dropped to 20% in the poly markets in terms of his chance of winning this race. Amy Act is at 80.
But I think this is the drag now. They're going to drag Sherrod Brown over the finish line, because he's not a good campaign or getting. He may have a pile of muscle on his ass, but he's just not a good campaigner. These red states are so interesting because to get a voter in a red state that leans kind of MAGA, leans Republican in the way that Ohio has done recently, in the way that Mrs. Sippy where Donald Trump is campaigning today most certainly does. You have to get voters to break a habit. And people like their habits, right, Anthony? They like their voting habits. They used to go into the polls and ticking the Republican candidate. So you have to get those people who have spent a lifetime ticking a Republican to go into the voting booth on election day and tick a Democrat. That's asking a lot for somebody to any habit. You want a quick smoking? You want to start working out? You want to start being nicer to your spouse. You've got to have a habit. You've got to break an old habit and you've got to form a new habit. Well, voting is a bit like that. You have the habit of voting Republican in these red states, now you have to vote Democrat. I think that the Amy Acton ad that we spoke about last week on the show helps give Republican voters in Ohio the nudge, you can call it the excuse to go into the voting booth and tick blue, tick Democratic, break your Republican habit. I think it is that kind of an ad. I think there are enough Republicans in Ohio who have looked at that ad and thought this is gross. I'm just not going to do it. So if they tick blue at the top for Amy Acton, for governor, will they then feel more comfortable ticking blue all the way down the ballot paper? I think that's what we'll get good exit polling results on that. How many people saw that ad and changed their mind? Which is going to be fascinating. Let me pin you for a second. Do you think Sherrod Brown is going to win that race? I think he is. Yeah. I do too. And I think in the aftermath, we're going to be doing it on autopsy and the guys, we're going to have a live stream, Gatty and I, and we'll be doing the autopsy and I think we'll be saying, wow, they really blew himself up with this thing. It was, I mean, how do you go to the estranged mother like that and have the just strange mother call the daughter of liar like that? Oh my God. You, I heard, do you want to hear the little bit of gossip I heard over the weekend about what some Democrats are hoping for any gossip that you have? Let me just stipulate this. I, I want to hear well, I heard a really good piece of gossip, but I'm not going to repeat that one. Okay. Let me just put my finger up on I'm drinking my coffee, well, a little finger. Let me hear the gossip. Okay. Okay. So here's the gossip I got from a Democrat who's super plugged in who's saying the word amongst Democrats is actually, they want to pick up five in their ideal world. Some Democrats are saying they won't say this on the record. They want to pick up five Democratic seats, but they'd be quite happy losing Michigan because they are worried about how much of a firebrand Abdul-El-Said would be if he comes into the Senate because he is very progressive and they are worried about having a very strong, this is kind of establishment Democrats are worried about having a super strong, progressive, socialist aligned Democratic caucus in the Senate and in the House where they'll have a dozen or so progressive Democrats, socialist aligned Democrats, and what will that do to the governing majority and what they can do anyway. There you go. I mean, that's, that's, that's, but you know, that again, you know, Bob Rubin just had a great op-ed in the New York Times has said publicly and I quote, "I've been at this for 60 years. There's no national Democratic party." Okay, the word "utidy" and Democrats, it did, they just don't do it well, you know? I think they're holding it together now until the midterms, but after the midterms, the dam will break and we will be into civil war territory for the Democrats. Right. And how Kim Jeffries, if he is, if he is Speaker of the House, he's going to have quite a posse that he's going to have to contend with. Okay, guys, we will be doing a live stream in the run-up to the election this week. Wednesday, 28th October, 6 p.m. UK time, 2 p.m. Eastern, Thursday, 29th October, 8 p.m. UK time, 4 p.m. Eastern, Friday, 30th October, 8 p.m. UK time, 4 p.m. Eastern. You can catch us live then and of course we'll be taking your questions. See you later, guys. Thanks for listening. See you later in the week, guys. [Music]
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
Trump is attempting to block the certification of Alaska’s Senate election by filing a lawsuit over the presence of two candidates with the same name, Dan Sullivan, to create confusion and justify legal challenges.
The Alaska Supreme Court already ruled that having multiple candidates with identical names is legally permissible, and such a challenge lacks legal merit under established election precedents.
Trump’s legal actions, including lawsuits and demands for electoral rolls, represent a broader strategy to instill doubt in the electoral process, aiming to frame any unfavorable result as fraudulent and to mobilize supporters with fear-based narratives.
These tactics mirror past strategies from 2020 and 2022, where Trump and allies sought to undermine public trust in elections through misinformation and partisan interference in state election administration.
Democratic leaders and election officials are responding with coordinated preparedness, including legal strategy and tabletop exercises, to counter federal overreach and protect the integrity of state-run elections.
The campaign’s use of fear—such as targeting Muslim voters or claiming widespread voter fraud—demonstrates a deliberate effort to exploit societal anxieties and erode trust in democratic processes.
Despite legal resistance, the actions create a chilling effect, potentially discouraging voter participation and raising concerns about the long-term stability of U.S. electoral norms.
Barack Obama’s recent campaign outreach highlights the Democrats’ recognition of the need for strong, authentic leadership to mobilize marginalized communities and counter Trump’s disinformation playbook.
Summary:
S. midterms by launching a legal challenge over Alaska’s Senate election, where two candidates share the name Dan Sullivan. This move, aimed at creating confusion and suggesting election fraud, is widely seen as a calculated effort to undermine public trust in electoral outcomes.
The Alaska Supreme Court has already ruled such a situation is legally valid, and the lawsuit lacks merit under established precedent. This action reflects a broader pattern of Trump’s strategy—using fear, misinformation, and legal threats to challenge election results, especially in states where he does not win. Critics note that the tactics, including demands for electoral rolls and anti-Muslim rhetoric, are designed to intimidate voters and create a perception of systemic fraud.
While federal courts have consistently rejected such challenges, the political climate remains volatile, with a significant portion of the public susceptible to fear-based narratives. In response, Democratic leaders are uniting with coordinated legal and operational strategies to defend election integrity. Notably, Barack Obama’s recent campaign presence is being strategically leveraged to mobilize key voter groups, particularly in swing states like Michigan, where his credibility and ability to connect with communities offer a counterpoint to Trump’s divisive messaging.
Despite these efforts, the ongoing legal and political pressure signals a deepening crisis of trust in American democracy, highlighting the need for vigilance, transparency, and strong institutional safeguards.
FAQs
Trump is challenging the Alaska Senate election because there are two candidates with the same name, Dan Sullivan. He claims voter confusion and alleges fraud, aiming to block the certification of the election if the Republican incumbent loses.
No, the lawsuit is widely considered frivolous. The Alaska Supreme Court already ruled in June that having two candidates with the same name is legal and does not constitute voter confusion or fraud.
The 'pre-nup' analogy suggests Trump is creating a legal agreement with democracy where, if the outcome isn't as desired, he plans to contest the election results, effectively undermining the integrity of the democratic process.
Yes, the Justice Department has filed lawsuits in 30 states seeking access to electoral rolls, raising concerns about voter suppression and authoritarian interference in elections.
Democrats are organizing, conducting tabletop exercises, and strengthening coordination among state-level officials to defend election integrity and counter federal interference.
The presence of two candidates with the same name highlights a real and legal issue, but it is being used by Trump as a pretext to sow confusion and create a false narrative of election fraud.
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