We received a lot of questions this week for our Ask Us Anything feature. Here is a sample of what’s been on your mind:
Why are you confident there will be free and fair elections in 2026 and 2028? What makes you believe Trump, with the backing of the Supreme Court, won't impose martial law?
(Chris) I get this question, or some variation on it, a lot. This is why way back in February I wrote an article titled, “Of Course There Will Be Free and Fair Elections in 2026: Here are eight reasons why.” I invite everyone who has doubts about whether there will be a 2026 election to read that article, as I believe all eight of my arguments still stand.
Here is a quick summary:
Presidents don't really have any power over elections.
Congress, which does have final authority on all federal elections, has a supermajority in favor of certifying them.
Courts at all levels have shot down attempts to overturn elections by Donald Trump in 2020 and Republicans in North Carolina earlier this year.
Whether as state, county or local officials, Democrats have significant say in running and certifying elections in basically all blue, purple and lean-red jurisdictions in the country.
Elections are being held all over the country right now and nothing is going wrong—in fact, Democrats are doing quite well.
Republicans in Washington, D.C. and Donald Trump himself are acting like elections are going to happen as per normal in the future.
Attempting to stop elections via military force would cause an economic meltdown on an order of magnitude greater than the one that caused Trump to back off from his “Liberation Day” tariffs.
The public, and the military, overwhelmingly want elections to take place.
So, I would like to turn the tables a bit and ask folks who are worried about the 2026 elections how they think Trump would overcome Congress, the courts, state and local officials, the business community, an economic meltdown, the public and the military to actually cancel elections.
I'm still confused about Republican compliance with Donald Trump’s agenda, when they know that passing the big reconciliation bill (among other things) could cost them their seats in 2026. Are they afraid of Trump? Do they assume registered Republican voters will vote for them no matter what, or that they will “win” if they vote for the reconciliation bill?
(Matt) I’d give an emphatic yes to your first assumption and a qualified yes to your second. Many Republican officials are afraid of Donald Trump. Politically, his hammerlock on the MAGA base coupled with the kind of money he commands allows him to make credible primary threats pretty much at will. For some, threats to physical safety may factor into the equation. These fears alone are enough to explain the lockstep compliance we’ve seen from most Republicans.
But they may also believe that support from Republican voters gives them enough cover to advance legislation that polling shows to be deeply unpopular. If they do, I think they are badly misguided. The reconciliation bill does a lot of damage to red states and districts, and people tend to notice things that affect their lives. I couldn’t disagree more with what Mitch McConnell told his conference behind closed doors—that people who experience Medicaid cuts will “get over it.” That’s up there with Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst telling a constituent who said people will die without Medicaid that “well, we are all going to die.” It’s not exactly a winning campaign slogan.
Republicans are going to be dealing with this when they face the voters next year. For now, whatever concerns they may have about what their campaigns will look like have been secondary to their fear of Trump’s wrath, and it is leading them to make self-destructive choices.
How realistic is it that enough people in Congress will wake up to the fact that Donald Trump is unfit to serve as President, and that the 25th Amendment to the Constitution needs to be given serious consideration? The more I read, the more I question Trump's mental stability and grip on reality. Is Congress too cowed to contemplate the idea?
(Matt) If you swore them to secrecy, you could probably get an overwhelming number of congressional Republicans to admit that Trump is unable to discharge the duties of his office. Unfortunately, invoking the 25th Amendment would take place in public, and besides, you’re never going to get the Vice President to go along with it (as the 25th Amendment requires), to say nothing of his sycophantic Cabinet, which would be the primary path for removal under the Constitution.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be political costs to keeping Trump in office if, as you suggest, his mental instability becomes too great to ignore. The press has refused to apply the same standards of age and fitness to Trump as they did to Biden, but if Trump visibly deteriorates it will become increasingly difficult for the administration to hide that from the public. I can’t diagnose what’s going on with him and I certainly can’t predict what he will be like months or years from now, but if it becomes undeniable that something is wrong, it will become harder for Republicans to look the other way.
Many of us have marched and gone to town halls, but wonder what more we can do. How else should we take action? I am 82—but active.
(Chris) Sounds like you are doing a lot, and I thank you for your activism!
Apart from the standard suite of political actions someone can take in a democracy—voting, donating, volunteering, attending meetings and rallies, contacting elected officials, posting on social media and talking with your social circles—the one thing you can always do more of is learn. Learn about potential legislation and upcoming changes to public policy. Learn about how courts and the government work. Learn about how elections operate. Learn about the economy and about history. The more you learn, the more your other actions will be better informed and effective.
Do you have information about what is happening behind the scenes on election integrity? I heard on a podcast that Trump wants to keep active control over the military in order to use them as a tool to disrupt the election process (such as confiscating voting machines).
(Chris) You need to stop listening to this podcast immediately.
Your work has been a port in the storm for me during this stressful time. Sometimes I can’t believe anyone can be as positive as you. Is there any point where you lose faith as well? And if so, how long does it take before you regain perspective?
(Chris) Honestly, there is no point where I lose faith. I can get frustrated sometimes, just like everyone else, but it never takes me long to regain my focus, my hope and my love for life. How can I do this? For one thing, I am an extremely lucky person. I have a great family, own a successful business, have achieved small amounts of fame, live in a place that I enjoy, and have no health problems whatsoever. I strongly suspect that luck is one of the reasons I am able to remain positive.
However, there is more to it than that. I have spent the past eight years working hard to improve my mental state and ability to adjust to the wider world. I have consistently found that taking care of your body often improves any emotional problem you are facing. I have also found that simply listing out the things you enjoy doing, and the things you do not enjoy doing, and reorienting your life as much as possible around the former and less around the later, leads to a consistent excitement about life. I found Stoicism extremely useful to maintaining a strong mind and steady emotional state, and history useful to maintaining perspective on just how good we actually have it by living in this time and place. Add it all up and, yeah, I basically never lose faith anymore, and I am always positive.
(Matt) Thank you for your kind words about our work. I guess I would consider my outlook to be grounded but guarded, and it has helped me get through this challenging time. It’s hard to watch all the damage being done at so many levels without having a way to process it. That’s where I turn to history. We never had Donald Trump before, but we have faced—as we do today—the clash of incompatible forces in our politics, and we survived as a nation. History also tells us that the greater the disruption, the greater the space for constructive changes that will make us a more equitable country once this is all over—and it will be over one day. I see this outcome not as wishful but possible, and it helps me stay grounded. I also realize It is not guaranteed, which is why I am guarded. But I find that taking a broad view of what’s happening rather than getting caught up in each outrage gives me a lot to hold on to. That’s why I haven’t lost faith.