Video: On Rachel Maddow’s Show, Sen. Mark Warner Says He’s “Terrified” Trump Could Interfere with Free-and-Fair Elections in 2026

On the Rachel Maddow Show last night, Sen. Mark Warner had some very strong, troubling words. See below for highlights (bolding added by me for emphasis) and video. Scary times…also time for all of us to stand up for our democracy!

• “Well, first of all, Rachel, I wish I could rebut what you said about the cybersecurity threats, the war or the detention centers. But you are right on all of those. A year ago, people would say to me, Senator, do you think there’s going to be free elections in 2026 and 2028, and I kind of blew it off. A year later, I am terrified that this administration is going to try to create some incident that can allow federal intervention. We’ve seen the president already say he wants the feds to take over or Republicans to take over elections. We’ve heard his former Secretary of Homeland Security say we want the right people to vote for the right people, We have seen this executive order that came out…saying he wanted all the states to turn over their voter files to a DHS secret formula that would screen who could be an appropriate voter. Totally absurd. But I am terrified because these policies are so unpopular, that this crowd may try to do anything, including intervening in our election with federal forces, troops at the ballot or disinformation that could actually be catastrophic. Because if we get off the notion of a free-and-fair election, I don’t know how we ever return to that.”
• “I believe at the outset, Tulsi Gabbard, who has no role in domestic activities, was down in Fulton County, Georgia, when they seized those ballots. Tulsi Gabbard, who was supposed to be looking at foreign interference, seized voting machines in Puerto Rico illegally, I believe.  For the first time in 10 years, this administration has not acknowledged any foreign influence threat, even though they are out there. So the idea they would pick some threat real or conceived to use as an excuse, I think we have to be very conscious of. So I’ve been trying to meet with former military leaders, intelligence leaders, law enforcement, just to say, you know, if you see something that comes out that’s a crock, speak up and rebut. And the press, frankly, needs to do it as well. This is about the heart of our democracy, whether it’s going to be free-and-fair elections. If we don’t stand up for that, and my fear is, as somebody who has been criticized by you many times for being way too bipartisan, but I’ve lost a lot of faith that my Republican partners in the Senate will stand up for our basic fair voting and democracy.”