Opinion | Why Is Trump So Afraid of American Voters?

Lots occurred this week. “Democrats dominating the primary main election.” “Nancy Pelosi will retire.” “A surge in air visitors controller callouts.” Right here’s one factor you shouldn’t miss. On Tuesday, California voted on —— “Prop 50.” “Prop 50.” “Democrats suppose they’ll get 5 further seats.” However let’s not get too wrapped up within the particulars there. What’s of actual concern is President Trump’s response to this vote. Earlier than the polls even closed, the president was raging about how the election was rigged. That it was unconstitutional. “An enormous rip-off.” “It’s completely true that there’s fraud in California’s elections. It’s only a truth.” Spoiler: There’s no indication that both of this stuff are true. He acquired much more mad when he noticed Democrats win in Virginia, New Jersey and New York. “So Donald Trump, since I do know you’re watching, flip the amount up.” And now the president is flailing. He needs to carry on to his majority in Congress within the midterms subsequent yr. So he’s calling on lawmakers to take motion to outlaw mail-in ballots, to make voter-ID legal guidelines extra strict, to do extra gerrymandering. And it’s not exhausting to image what else the president would possibly take into account doing. Sending in troops into American cities round elections to intimidate voters or cowl the nation with ICE brokers who’ve already wrongfully detained virtually 200 U.S. residents this yr. If you happen to suppose any of that is far-fetched, let’s overview a number of different occasions in American historical past the place our leaders have tried to disclaim voting rights. For Black voters within the Jim Crow South, for feminine voters earlier than girls’s suffrage and for Native Individuals for a lot of the nation’s historical past. And simply by persevering with to solid doubt on the legitimacy of American elections, Trump is telling his followers to imagine that dropping an election means it’s stolen. We all know the place that ends. “Cease the steal!” In a democracy, a president’s job ought to be to get as many eligible residents as attainable to the poll field. This nation has by no means completed that completely, however we’ve made essential progress. If Trump has his method, giant swaths of residents may lose their vote and American democracy itself would lose a lot, rather more.