Trump says Republicans should 'nationalize' voting amid midterm anxiety

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Republicans should "nationalize" the voting process in at least 15 places, a move he deemed necessary to address what he called "crooked" election practices.

Speaking on a podcast hosted by former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, Trump repeated his claim that the 2020 election, which Joe Biden won, was a result of fraud, while attributing alleged illegal votes to immigrants.

"These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally. And you know, amazing that the Republicans aren't tougher on it," Trump said during the show.

"The Republicans should say, we want to take over. We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting," Trump said. He gave no specific details about what he intended, but accused some states of being "crooked" in their vote counting.  

The president's remarks come as Republicans encountered a major electoral setback in Texas. On January 31, Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a union machinist and Air Force veteran, won a special election for a Texas state senate seat in Tarrant County, a seat occupied by Republicans for decades.

Rehmet defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss by more than 14 percentage points in a traditionally conservative area. While Trump had endorsed Wambsganss as a "MAGA Warrior," he distanced himself from the loss on Sunday, noting that he was not on the ballot.

Trump has recently appeared to lower expectations for Republican victory in the midterms. "Presidents, whether it's Republican or Democrat, when they win, it doesn't make any difference. They seem to lose the midterms," Trump told the Will Cain show on January 27. "Maybe they want to put up a guard fence. You just don't know. It doesn't make sense."

Democrats have been unnerved by Trump potentially intervening in the upcoming election. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy warned CNN on January 26, saying, "Donald Trump has made it clear that he intends to try to interfere in the upcoming 2026 election. He says that his one regret from 2020 was that he didn't take the voting machines.”

(With input from agencies)