Trump's Other War Against Elections

 

US Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday accused President Donald Trump of trying to sabotage the 2026 midterm elections as his illegal war on Iran jacks up gas prices and threatens higher inflation throughout the economy, angering voters across the political spectrum.

The Massachusetts Democrat’s warning came shortly after Trump signed an executive order aimed at restricting mail-in voting, a move that was widely seen as unconstitutional. Warren wrote on social media: “Trump knows his war with Iran is unpopular. Trump knows Americans are angry that he’s made everything more expensive. Instead of reversing course, Trump is trying to rig the next election. It’s illegal—and we will fight back.”

Ben Raderstorf, a policy advocate at the nonprofit group Protect Democracy, said that “just like the war in Iran, the war against the midterms is extremely dangerous and will do so much damage to our elections and our democracy.”

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday evening found that 66% of US voters—including 40% of Republicans—want a quick end to Trump’s war on Iran, even if his administration doesn’t achieve its vague and constantly shifting objectives, which have ranged from thwarting an imminent threat that analysts say was not present, to full-scale regime change, to destroying a nuclear weapons program that US intelligence has repeatedly found does not exist.

Reuters reported that two in three respondents to the new survey “said they ⁠expected gas prices to worsen over the next year, including 40% of Republicans.”

While oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday after Trump declared that US forces would end their assault on Iran in “two weeks or maybe a few days longer,” the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimated last week that the gas price surge stemming from the war was on pace to cost American drivers an additional $9.4 billion per month.

“Alabama is the most affected state in the nation, with residents spending an extra $52 per person, per month,” ITEP found. “Other heavily impacted states include Mississippi ($51), Wyoming ($49), Kentucky ($47), and New Mexico ($44).”

Trump is expected to address the nation on the Iran war at 9 pm ET on Wednesday, more than a month into a military campaign that was not authorized by lawmakers and that has sparked a regional conflict, killing thousands and displacing millions.

The president told reporters on Tuesday that Iran “doesn’t have to make a deal” to end the war, and Trump has privately told aides that he’s willing to end the assault without securing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

“We leave because there’s no reason for us to do this,” Trump said.

-Common Dreams