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martial law
Fearing Midterm Loss, Trump Once Again Says 'We Shouldn't Even Have an Election'
"Take Trump at his word here," said one Minnesota attorney. "But know his word isn’t law."
Jan 15, 2026
As armed federal agents roam the streets of American cities and amid threats to declare the Insurrection Act and use military force to quell protests in Minneapolis, President Donald Trump said once again that the next elections should be canceled because he expects his party to lose.
“It's some deep psychological thing, but when you win the presidency, you don't win the midterms,” Trump said in a closed-door interview published by Reuters on Thursday. He added that because he's accomplished so much during his first term, “when you think of it, we shouldn't even have an election.”
It's at least the second time this month that Trump has floated the idea. He previously did so less directly during a speech commemorating the five-year anniversary of the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, during which his supporters attempted to violently overturn his 2020 election loss to former President Joe Biden after he told them it was the result of fraud.
During that speech at the Kennedy Center, Trump described it as an outrage that Republicans even have to contest elections against Democrats later this year, suggesting canceling the election, but later backing off the idea.
"How do we even run against these people?" Trump said. "I won't say cancel the election; they should cancel the election, because the fake news would say: 'He wants the elections canceled. He's a dictator.' They always call me a dictator."
In the same speech, he warned: "You gotta win the midterms. Because if we don't win the midterms, they'll find a reason to impeach me. I'll get impeached."
Trump is correct that sitting presidents rarely see their parties do well in midterm elections two years after being elected. No sitting president has seen their party gain seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate since 2002, when former President George W. Bush's Republican Party was able to capitalize on fears of terrorism following the September 11 attacks just over a year before.
The president's grip on a legislative trifecta is nearly as thin as it could possibly be, with Republicans holding just 218 seats to the Democrats' 213.
Democrats were already favored to retake the House in November, and now appear even more likely to do so amid Trump's consistent unpopularity. On Thursday, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved a total of 18 House races in the Democrats' direction in its latest assessment of the odds to win the chamber.
However, Trump is wrong that elections can be "canceled," at least legally. Under the Elections Clause in Article I, Section 4 of the US Constitution, the administration of elections is vested in the states, with Congress holding the power to "make or alter such regulations." The president has no authority to determine the timing of federal elections.
The United States has never once postponed a presidential election in its nearly 250-year history: They were carried out on schedule during periods of extraordinary crisis, including the Civil War in 1864, the influenza epidemic in 1918 and 1920, and World War II in 1942 and 1944.
Elections were also carried out on schedule in 2020, though Trump, who was then the president running for a second consecutive term, also suggested that they should be delayed then due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the time, he claimed that the widespread use of mail-in ballots, necessitated by the illness, would make it "the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history” and asked if he should "delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???” But Trump never pursued the idea seriously, as it was shot down by top Republicans.
After losing the election, he wrote in 2022 that what he called “a Massive Fraud” allowed for the “termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution" in order to address the 2020 result.
Trump has more recently suggested that a war could give him the ticket to cancel elections. While speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in August of 2025, he spoke approvingly of the leader's invocation of martial law and suspension of elections following Russia's invasion three years prior.
"So during war, you can't have elections?" Trump said with a smile. "So let me just say, three and a half years from now— so you mean if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections? Oh, that’s good.”
Since then, Trump has notably launched a war to take over Venezuela's oil and threatened to launch several more, including with Greenland, Iran, and Mexico.
Asked on Thursday about why the president keeps talking about canceling elections, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: "The president was simply joking. He was saying, 'We're doing such a great job, we're doing everything the American people thought, maybe we should just keep rolling.' But he was speaking facetiously."
Ryan Broderick, the writer of the political newsletter Garbage Day, said that with his latest comments—and "the threats of invoking the Insurrection Act in Minnesota this morning—he is very clearly exploring how to cancel the midterms."
Trump has in recent days suggested using the National Guard to seize voting machines, stating that he regretted not doing so as he attempted to overturn his loss in 2020. His handpicked election officials have previously urged him to declare a "national emergency" that they said would give the federal government unprecedented powers to override the states and write their own election rules.
On the question of canceling the midterms outright, Ken White, a criminal defense attorney and First Amendment litigator, agreed that Trump "wants to, it’s plausible he’ll try, and his people would support it," but said "it’s vastly harder and more complicated than people are suggesting and can’t be done by his fiat."
New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie argued that even if Trump wanted to cancel the midterms, he would face many logistical hurdles in doing so.
"How does Trump force 50 separate state boards of election to cancel their midterms?" he asked on social media. "How does he convince Republican House members to quit their jobs and give up their paychecks?"
"[US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] can't even deal with irate middle-aged Midwesterners. How does he occupy hundreds, if not thousands, of polling sites and precincts?" he continued. "Trump v. Illinois clarified that he has no legal authority to unilaterally commandeer national guards. How does he move forward from there?"
Minnesota lawyer Andrew Rothstein encouraged people to "take Trump at his word here... but know his word isn’t law."
Even if this year's elections go forward as planned, Trump is working to influence the results by bullying Republican state legislators to rig their congressional maps for the GOP and attempting to seize sensitive voter data.
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'You Are Murderers!' 'Get the F*ck Out!': Fury at ICE Agents Boils in Minneapolis
"Protesters... are furious, and tensions are exploding," said one independent journalist. "This is escalation, not policing."
Jan 11, 2026
Amidst peaceful demonstrations and shows of empathy and solidarity in Minneapolis and other US cities following the killing of Renee Nicole Good by a federal agent last week, videos appearing online over the weekend also show increasing levels of outrage directed at immigration officers who community members say they no longer want to see terrorizing their streets.
While Trump has reportedly ordered more officers to Minneapolis in the wake of Good's killing—even as local and state officials have called for the end of operations in order to tamp down tensions in the city—the clips circulating online reveal mounting frustration by neighbors no longer willing to tolerate the situation.
On Sunday, journalist and documentarian Ford Fischer posted video from Minneapolis he described as ICE agents being "followed by dozens of activists on foot and in vehicles" in the city.
While agents are seen holding bear spray and warning people to stay back, the procession of civilians following them heckled the officers and made it clear they are not wanted in the city.
"You are murderers!" yells one man at the officers. Several others can be heard screaming, "Go home!" and "Fuck you!"
Just now: ICE followed by dozens of activists on foot and in vehicles in Minneapolis. pic.twitter.com/vFXmZIr0TA
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) January 11, 2026
In another video, posted by FreedomNews.TV, federal agents are seen pulling two people from a vehicle on a residential street and placing them under arrest before being confronted by neighbors and onlookers telling them to "Get out of our fucking state!"; "Get the fuck out!"; and "Get a real job!"
🚨 HOLY SMOKES: New video shows ICE agents smashing the window of a protester’s vehicle and forcibly pulling him out in Minneapolis and he was immediately detained.
Protesters in the area are furious, and tensions are exploding.
This is escalation, not policing. pic.twitter.com/CfHMQyPOOg
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) January 11, 2026
"Protesters in the area are furious, and tensions are exploding," said independent journalist Brian Allen in response to the video. "This is escalation, not policing."
The latest scenes appear to indicate growing anger by the public towards President Donald Trump's authoritarian deployment of federal agents to cities nationwide over the last year. With Good's killing, the growing tensions are palpable.
NOW: Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino hounded by activists and shoppers protesting his presence as he and a federal agent caravan leave a Target in St Paul, Minnesota for a restroom break. pic.twitter.com/Ti21rQbuyd
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) January 11, 2026
While many state and local lawmakers and other officials calling for calm and peaceful protest in response, many—including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) also believe that Trump and members of his administration are intentionally trying to provoke the civilian population in order to justify an ever harsher repressive response.
In comments on Saturday, as Common Dreams reported, Omar warned that the ultimate goal is "to agitate people enough where they are able to invoke the Insurrection Act to declare martial law."
While the individual episodes documented above reveal the very real anger that many are feeling as masked federal agents target people in their communities, the overall protests against the policies that led to Good's killing—which took place in hundreds of cities over the weekend—have been resoundingly peaceful.
🚨 JUST IN: Families, including parents with children, are present at PEACEFUL protests in Minneapolis, underscoring that these are community demonstrations, NOT riots.
If federal agents escalate force against crowds that include families, that will be a choice by the state, not… pic.twitter.com/SKoHKleGFb
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) January 11, 2026
"A peaceful night in Minneapolis," the city posted to its social media accounts following Saturday night's demonstrations. "As more demonstrations are planned today, we appreciate and thank the community for using its collective voice in harmony and love."
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Omar Warns Trump Aims to Provoke Enough Agitation in Minnesota So He Can Declare 'Martial Law'
"There is no other justifiable way to describe what is taking place in Minneapolis at this moment," said the Minnesota Democrat.
Jan 10, 2026
Amidst national outrage this week over the killing by Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good by a federal agent, members of Minnesota's congressional delegation on Saturday were blocked from full access to a federal immigration detention center in the city—but at least one lawmaker among them warns something much more sinister is now taking place in the state.
"I was just denied access to the ICE processing center at the Whipple Building," Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who represents the state's 5th District. "Members of Congress have a legal right and constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight where people are being detained. The public deserves to know what is taking place in ICE facilities."
Omar shared a video of herself, along with Reps. Angie Craig and Kelly Morrison, outside the facility as large numbers of masked federal agents in protective gear blocked the driveway entrance.
Happening NOW: US Reps Ilhan Omar and Angie Craig are attempting to enter Whipple Fed Building- met with federal agents on other side. @wcco pic.twitter.com/3eIWxiLaW7
— Adam Duxter (@AdamDuxter) January 10, 2026
In a telephone interview with MSNOW, Omar later explained that she and her colleagues arrived at the facility Saturday morning in order to conduct oversight activities. While Omar said they were initially allowed to enter the building, they were shortly after told they "had to wait until higher-ups were able to come speak with us."
It seemed to Omar, she said, that the order to halt their visit "maybe came from Washington to deny us the proper access that we needed to complete those oversight duties that we are obligated as members of Congress."
Calling it a clear violation of their oversight authority, Omar and Craig explained to reporters what happened after they were denied further access to the facility:
"This is beyond the pale." Democratic Congresswomen Rep. Ilhan Omar and Rep. Annie Craig had their access to a federal detention facility revoked while touring the building. pic.twitter.com/KthvotCREX
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) January 10, 2026
Congresswoman Craig also spoke to MSNOW's Ali Velshi:
Rep. Angie Craig: "We were told because this facility is being funding by the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' not the congressional appropriations act, that we would not be allowed to enter the facility. That's complete nonsense ... I informed them they were violating the law. They said… pic.twitter.com/vCOqgldB2Q
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 10, 2026
Noting the size and scale of the presence of armed federal agents now deployed in her state, Omar suggested in her interview with MSNOW that the recent Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) operations being conducted serve no purpose other than to harass and terrorize local communities. That militarized presence has only grown since Trump ordered more agents to the city following Wednesday's killing of Good and the protests that have erupted as a result.
" Protest is as American as apple pie," said Omar. "People come out to register their opposition to what they do not like or want to accept. It is important for people to be able to do that in a democracy."
"What we are seeing right now, not only from the surge of 2,000 federal agents—now we have another 1,000 apparently coming in—it is essentially trying to create this kind of environment where people feel intimidated, threatened, and terrorized. And I think the ultimate goal of [Homeland Security Security Secretary] Kristi Noem and President Trump is to agitate people enough where they are able to invoke the Insurrection Act to declare martial law."
"There is," she continued, "no other justifiable way to describe what is taking place in Minneapolis at this moment. There is no justifiable reason why this number of agents is here in our state."
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