Why Trump’s Election Rhetoric Is So Dangerous

Democracies don’t usually collapse in a single dramatic moment. They erode when powerful people normalize the idea that elections are illegitimate unless they win—and when federal power is used, or even threatened, as a political weapon against local election systems. That’s why Donald Trump and Tulsi Gabbard’s rhetoric surrounding the Fulton County FBI search and the 2020 election is so dangerous.

Let’s be clear about what’s happening. By concocting a story about a vast election conspiracy, Trump and Gabbard aren’t seeking truth—they’re seeding distrust. They are telling millions of Americans that local election officials, county governments, and even their neighbors who volunteer at polling places are not neutral civic servants, but enemies. This isn’t oversight. It’s deliberate delegitimization.

I don’t speak about this abstractly. I have served as an election judge in Maryland and now as an officer of elections in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I’ve worked inside the very system they’re attacking. Elections are administered by ordinary Americans—Republicans, Democrats, and independents—who take an oath, follow the law, and show up early to polling sites and leave late to ensure ballots are cast and counted correctly. When national leaders portray these systems as criminal enterprises, they put targets on the backs of public servants and volunteers, inviting intimidation, threats, and voter disengagement.

That is the point.

Trump understands political communication. His history shows that his ego matters to him more than facts. By pairing a routine FBI search with sweeping claims of fraud, he constructs a familiar narrative: federal law enforcement as partisan heroes, local election officials as suspects, and himself as the victim. Tulsi Gabbard’s role is especially troubling given her current position as Director of National Intelligence; her public insinuations lend dangerous credibility to a baseless narrative. Her job is intelligence coordination, not criminal investigation nor law enforcement. So what the hell was she doing in Fulton County, Georgia?

The threat doesn’t stop there. Trump’s repeated calls to “federalize” elections in 15 states are not just authoritarian—they are illegal. The Constitution is explicit. Under Article I, Section 4, states have primary authority over elections. While Congress may regulate federal elections through legislation, a president cannot unilaterally seize control of state-run systems. Doing so would violate the Tenth Amendment and the anti-commandeering doctrine.

In plain language: the president is not a king. Elections are not his to take. They are ours – We the People in the states in which we reside.

If we allow elections to be portrayed as illegitimate whenever they inconvenience the powerful, we won’t lose democracy all at once. We’ll lose it one lie at a time. For those with doubts about our elections, I offer a simple suggestion: volunteer. Be part of our system of elections. Educate yourself. Get the training to run a polling site. You may find, as I did, that American democracy is far more resilient—and far more patriotic—than the cynics would have you believe. The truth is, we Americans have the best and most trusted election system on the planet.

Joe Plenzler
Warren County, VA

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