‘Pay attention’: Trump’s response to ‘national emergency’ proposal has people concerned | indy100

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US president Donald Trump has sparked alarm among his critics, over his response to the suggestion that he could declare a national emergency for elections ahead of the November midterms.

In a phone interview with Trump, conservative TV host Wayne Allyn Root of Real America's Voice told the 80-year-old: “Let me put an idea in your head, OK?

“Because it’s so hard to get the Senate to do anything – now they’re on recess. They don’t get anything done.

“If they never get the SAVE America Act done, you have the right to declare a national security emergency for elections, and the Supreme Court ruled in 1983 under Reagan – INS vs Chadha – that if you declare a national security emergency as the president of the United States, they can’t challenge it.

“It can only be overturned by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress. So if you do this in the next month, we will get photo ID, proof of citizenship and a limit to mail-in ballots…”

Trump interrupted: “Let me just say that stranger things have happened, OK? I’ll leave it at that.”

For those unfamiliar, the case of INS vs Chadha – per the Election Law Blog – actually said one House within Congress cannot unilaterally veto a president’s actions, as opposed to saying anything about the declaration of national emergencies.

And as a reminder, the SAVE America Act – with SAVE standing for ‘Safeguard American Voter Eligibility – would require individuals to provide proof of US citizenship in order to register and cast their vote in federal elections.

Root’s suggestion and Trump’s response have both caused alarm on social media, with former Republican congressman Joe Walsh calling on Democrats to “sound the alarm bells now”:

Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee branded it “illegal and unconstitutional”:

“Not even hiding their intentions,” wrote Wu Tang is for the Children:

Political commentator Ed Krassenstein said: “If they can’t win the elections, they will stop them. That’s how far MAGA will go”:

Melanie D’Arrigo, of the Campaign for New York Health, tweeted: “This is what destruction democracy looks like. Pay attention”:

CNN anchor Jake Tapper said: “There is zero reason to not take Trump at his word that he and his team are planning [something] alarming to disrupt the midterms and beyond”:

“Donald Trump wants to take over American elections,” claimed Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer:

But others were unconvinced, with political strategist Sawyer Hackett writing that Trump “has zero authority to federalize elections”:

While criminal defense lawyer Scott Greeenfield said: “Trump has no legal authority to do this, but that doesn't mean he won't try”:

Trump’s latest comments mark a shift from remarks given back in February, when PBS White House correspondent Liz Landers asked if he was considering a national emergency around the November midterm elections.

“No, I’ve never heard about it,” he said.

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