Rachel Maddow warns Trump is 'planning to rig' 2026 midterms, Internet calls her 'unwell'

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow has accused Donald Trump of laying the groundwork to interfere with the 2026 midterm elections, warning that his plans go beyond simply trying to win.

In a fiery segment, Maddow alleged that Trump is pressuring Republican lawmakers to manipulate congressional maps and creating a pretext to delay or nullify the vote altogether.

She further claimed that he is adopting tactics to undermine mail-in voting, citing advice he says came from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Rachel Maddow says Trump is trying to rig 2026 midterms

According to Maddow, Trump is already lobbying GOP legislators in states such as Texas, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, and South Carolina to redraw congressional districts to ensure Republican control “regardless of how people vote.”

“Trump isn’t just planning to win, he’s planning to rig the game entirely,” she warned. 

“The census is how we get congressional districts. If Trump can nullify the existing census by, for example, blaming the counting of immigrants or some other factor, he can lay the groundwork to claim that all the existing congressional districts in the country are somehow wrong and can’t be used, and therefore, we can’t have congressional elections using the districts we now have.”

Maddow said Trump is calling for a “brand-new census” in the middle of the decade, a move she described as “practically impossible.” Organizing and processing a new count would take years, which Maddow argues is precisely Trump’s intent.

“Trump also appears to be trying to establish a pretext for nullifying or delaying the midterm elections everywhere, demanding a new census and claiming the old one shouldn’t count,” she said.

Rachel Maddow faces criticism over Putin-mail vote claim

While Rachel Maddow warned the move could undermine US democracy, critics on social media mocked her comments. One user said on Facebook, "Typical Maddow leftist made up misconstrued BS."

Another wrote, "That is just her, NOT AMERICA," while another commented, "She’s unwell." A user added, "Shes still on TV? Why?"

One remarked on YouTube, "This Madow fella is truly crazy!." Another wrote, "MSNBC is over !! Tick Tick Tick, Rachel..." One user said, "Maddow is now the election denier and conspiracy theorist."

Push to ban mail-in voting linked to Putin

Maddow also flagged Trump’s plan to ban mail-in voting nationwide via executive order, an idea Trump says was encouraged by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Now, I would caution you again, as always, to watch what he actually does here and not just what he says he is going to do,” Maddow said. “But if Trump is taking tactical advice from Putin about how to hold something that looks like an election but is not actually an election, that doesn’t bode well for the future of American democracy.”

Calling Trump’s moves a serious threat to democratic norms, Maddow urged viewers to pay close attention to the lead-up to the midterms. “If Trump can nullify the existing census,” she reiterated, “he can lay the groundwork to cancel the elections entirely by claiming the voting maps are invalid.”

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