October 27, 2025

I planned to write to you this morning about the risk posed by the Department of Justice’s last-minute decision to send federal monitors to observe voting in several California and New Jersey counties next week. But as I was finishing up my thoughts yesterday, Donald Trump made a new direct threat to free and fair elections, and I felt inspired to write about it for today. 

So, here it is — I'll be in your inbox again later with the piece about Trump’s latest intimidation tactics ahead of Election Day.

Donald Trump is never moving on from the 2020 election. And now, he’s planning to get revenge in 2026. 

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, the president of the United States accused Democrats of “cheating on elections,” falsely claimed that the 2020 election was “rigged and stolen” and asserted that the upcoming California referendum election is “totally dishonest.” Calling the 2020 election the “biggest SCANDAL in American history,” he instructed his Department of Justice to pursue it with “gusto.”

Yet that wasn’t the worst of it.

In his social media post, Donald Trump dramatically expanded his attacks on the 2026 elections. Trump has previously attacked vote-by-mail systems and voting machines while promoting universal voter ID requirements.

Yesterday, he added early in-person voting to the list of options he wants banned.

As we head toward 2026, Trump is laying the groundwork to limit voting to in-person Election Day only. He will attempt to use the power of his office to curtail voting by mail and early voting. If that fails...