Allies urge Trump on martial law
The gist
Outside allies urge Trump to declare martial law around the midterms.
The fight is over who controls US elections, normally left to states.
How it unfolded
- Feb 2026Trump said Republicans should nationalize voting in at least 15 places.
- Aug 2026Trump posted a Wayne Allyn Root column describing a national-security-emergency plan as "foolproof"; when Root pushed him on air to declare a national-security emergency, Trump said "stranger things have happened" and left it there.
- Sep 22, 2026At the UN General Assembly Trump cast drug cartels as "the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere" and vowed to use "unmatched military might" against regional threats; he also met Shield of the Americas leaders on the sidelines.