FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2026
How far will they go, we've asked: On this somewhat disturbing day, we'll be away from our sprawling campus until mid-afternoon. That said:
How far will this administration be willing to go with respect to November's elections? We asked that question at the start of the week, and now this report has arrived in the Washington Post:
Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergency
Pro-Trump activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that claims China interfered in the 2020 election as a basis to declare a national emergency that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly previewed a plan to mandate voter ID and ban mail ballots in November’s midterm elections, and the activists expect their draft will figure into Trump’s promised executive order on the issue. The White House declined to elaborate on Trump’s plans.
“Under the Constitution, it’s the legislatures and states that really control how a state conducts its elections, and the president doesn’t have any power to do that,” said Peter Ticktin, a Florida lawyer who is advocating for the draft executive order. Ticktin attended the New York Military Academy with Trump and was part of his legal team that filed an unsuccessful 2022 lawsuit accusing Democrats of conspiring to damage him with allegations that his 2016 campaign colluded with Russia.
“But here we have a situation where the president is aware that there are foreign interests that are interfering in our election processes,” Ticktin went on. “That causes a national emergency where the president has to be able to deal with it.”
The emergency would empower the president to ban mail ballots and voting machines as the vectors of foreign interference, Ticktin argued.
The idea of claiming emergency executive powers based on allegations of foreign interference attaches new significance to the administration’s actions to reinvestigate the 2020 election. Trump has never accepted defeat, while never finding evidence of widespread fraud. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is leading a review of election security that officials said focuses on foreign influence.
And so on from there.
How serious is this proposal? Does it represent something resembling an actual White House inclination? Is Pete Ticktin the real deal? Is he possibly just a flake?
We can't answer those questions. The Post's Isaac Arnsdorf goes on at some length, offering background information, but he doesn't seem to know at this point.
That said, we regard this as a deeply dangerous time. Ticklin may just be floating a dream—or then again, possibly not.
We ourselves are heading off to the medical mission today. We may resume these ruminations by mid-afternoon.
For those lacking access to the full report in the Washington Post, here's the overview from Mediaite, written by Isaac Schorr:
Trump Reportedly Mulling Plan to Declare ‘National Emergency’ Paving Way for Major Power Grab
The Washington Post reported that activists are working with the White House on an executive order to declare a “national emergency” over America’s elections and pave the way for a power grab.
“Pro-Trump activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that claims China interfered in the 2020 election as a basis to declare a national emergency that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting,” reported the Post‘s Isaac Arnsdorf. “President Donald Trump has repeatedly previewed a plan to mandate voter ID and ban mail ballots in November’s midterm elections, and the activists expect their draft will figure into Trump’s promised executive order on the issue.”
Peter Ticktin, a MAGA activist in favor of the executive order, told the Post that “we have a situation where the president is aware that there are foreign interests that are interfering in our election processes,” and that “the president has to be able to deal with it,” including by banning mail-in ballots and certain voting machines.
That headline and lede seem a bit overstated. At any rate, the report continues from there.
There is nothing...absolutely zero...in the Constitution which authorizes such an "emergency."
ReplyDeleteWasn't the Supreme Court clear enough in its recent decision on tariffs? A president can't simply announce an emergency and give himself powers that aren't in the Constitution.
DeleteYes, Soros-monkey, there are Constitutional provisions authorizing emergency powers.
Aside form that, there are Congressional acts authorizing emergency powers.
The Supreme Court may decide that any particular incident of claiming emergency powers is not justified, but it has to be decided case-by-case, Soros-monkey, because there's nothing "clear" and "absolutely zero" about it overall; no blanket ban on emergency powers.
Capeesh?
Mao,
DeleteIn your esteemed opinion, why are Republicans so into raping children?
As QiB clearly stated, the President can't just "announce an emergency" as the perpetually hysterical Trump is prone to do. There has to, under even the most far fetched interpretation, "be" an emergency.
Delete
DeleteOh yes, retarded Soros-monkey, it's extremely unfortunate that Our Greatest President of All Times neglected to ask your, retarded Soros-monkey, opinion on the interpretation of 'emergency'.
Unforgivable blunder!
President Drama Queen's feelings being hurt is enough reason for the Supreme Court to let him get away with fascism, and the public can't get enough of the Epstein Files---which givers the Rapist in Chief a sad.
Delete10:45,
DeleteIf he'd asked me he wouldn't have gotten slapped down by the Supreme Court, would he? Your don't seem to be very good at this.
"Yes, Soros-monkey, there are Constitutional provisions authorizing emergency powers."
DeleteSays the foreign troll who knows so little of US laws, and of the US in general, that he would make such an obviously false and moronic assertion.
oof.
Triggered, Hillary?
DeleteQuaker: The Supreme Court said that there was no economic emergency. Here Trump is claiming that we are "under attack". Can the Supreme Court invalidate that declaration? If Trump does declare Marshal Law, can the Supreme Court just say: "Nope"? Or is it up to congress to impeach and convict?
DeleteI don't think Trump could get away with this. I think the SC would invalidate it 9 to 0.
DeleteIt would be, at a minimum, 6-3. Thomas and Alito and often Kavanaugh, are in the tank for Trump. They are on his team.
Delete6:53 is such a helpful troll.
DeleteGelato?
ReplyDelete"Trump has never accepted defeat, while never finding evidence of widespread fraud."
So, your Democrat cult's propaganda now admits fraud, albeit not "widespread". Not widespread, according to their definition of "widespread". Good.
But then "widespread fraud" is not what Our Greatest President of All Times claims. He says that the election was rigged. And clearly it was, just consider the widespread (yes, widespread) censorship of "social networks" just before the election. Tons of evidence of that.
Good luck with your medical procedures today, Bob. If that's what it is.
What about the widespread trumptardism running riot between your ears. Any comments on that?
DeleteAbout 99% of the near nonexistent vote cheating is conducted by asshole deranged Trumpers.
DeleteYou’re a lunatic.
DeleteYeah, right.clamping down on Twitter threw an election.
You’re not just crazy. You’re a moron.
Say what you will about the Republican Party, but you can't say they don't run a global pedophile ring.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who isn't a bigot, or isn't perfectly fine with bigotry, left the Republican Party over a quarter of a century ago.
ReplyDeleteSomerby finally notices that Trump is not only crazy but doing bad things to our country.
ReplyDeletesomerby has been sounding the alarm for quite some time now.
DeleteNo.
DeleteToday Somerby mostly amplifies (via a newspaper run by a Trump supporter) a personal friend of Trump's that gives a rationale for Trump to rig future elections, while Somerby pretends to, in the mildest way, clutch his pearls.
DeleteBrother, please.
Yes, Somerby is so so concerned. "That headline and lede seem a bit overstated..." Not.
DeleteVery true, anon@9:47. It's not the disordered child who is lusting for unlimited power. It's not even addled, demented Trump -- or not just him anyway. There's a whole dark cabal behind him, and this decrepit man is their battering ram to break down the flimsy gates that are keeping the fascists at bay.
DeleteWhat’s Somerby supposed to do? Start hysterically calling everyone names?
DeleteThe only emergency Trump can legitimately declare has to do with what is happening in his Depends.
ReplyDeleteSo much winning I can smell it.
DeleteSo much winning it's making my eyes water.
DeleteSo much winning he soiled himself.
DeleteHe'll do it, and he'll probably get away with it too.
ReplyDeleteAs long as she is 13.
DeleteThe Trafalgar Group surveyed 1,084 likely voters between February 24-26 and found that 47.1 percent of those polled “strongly approved” of the job the president is doing, while 3.7 percent approved.
ReplyDeletehahahahaha
DeleteA drone has eliminated the Trafalgar Group. Everybody knows Dear Leader Approval is over 150%, 600%, up to 10,000%.
DeleteA US military drone has killed a terrorist party balloon shutting down air traffic saving maybe millions. God bless the unishshed slashs of amurca.
DeleteA US military drone has killed a terrorist party balloon shutting down air traffic saving maybe millions. God bless the unishshed slashs of amurca.
DeleteAnyone who isn't a homosexual pervert or a morbidly obese female with a bull ring left the democrat party 25 years ago.
ReplyDeleteSqueal loder, snowflake.
DeleteYet Biden won the 2020 Presidential election in a landslide.
DeleteGo figure.
By 7 million votes. He crushed Trump. He made Trump his bitch.
DeleteLooking forward to the midterms.
DeleteObserving this right wing vanity blog wither away, is not unamusing.
ReplyDeleteRight wing? Lol.
DeleteIt's interesting how Trump is claiming two -- maybe even three -- essentially mutually exclusive theories of how the election was "stolen". On the one hand, the Chinese meddled and did...something. On the other hand, millions of "illegals" voted. Oh, and finally, Trump was still winning by the votes were switched. None of these claims is coherent or worth considering. However, as every manual on "how to become a dictator" tells you: you must claim something. Doesn't matter if it makes even a modicum of sense.
ReplyDeleteThere is no evidence for any of these theories. However I would quibble with “mutually exclusive”. Any or all of them could have happened. And, could happen in the future.
DeleteGo fuck yourself you dumb ass troll.
DeleteIlya, you forgot the most cogent argument about the election theft, it obviously was ‘Chavez approved’ Venezuelan election technology that was used to rig the election. They have all sorts of evidence to back up dead Chavez taking a wrecking ball to the election. David and the rest of the fucking weirdo trolls are so fucking stupid, weird, and ignorant. Why engage with the creeps?
Delete"Chavez ate my election" is the fourth theory, I reckon. All of these theories seem to to compete with each other for attention and neither one of them is fully baked.
DeleteMillions of non-citizens voting is probably the most insane of them all.
In any case, I have an almost incontrovertible statistical proof that the election was not stolen. If you frame 2016 and 2020 elections as "Trump vs. Other", here is what you will find. Compared to the '16 election, the '20 election had a higher percentage of voters going for Other than Trump; that is, say, in Idaho there was an 8% increase for Trump, but 25% increase for Other (Biden). That was the case in 45 of 50 states, including the states where Biden had no chance of beating Trump, e.g. Idaho, Wyoming, etc. More people showed up to vote against Trump. Sadly, these people stayed home in '24.
As much bullshit that Trump spews on a daily basis, the most ridiculous line of bs spewed regularly as a talking point by republicans is that he brought down the inflation created by Biden. The 2022 jump to 8% was part wife a worldwide trend but worsened by this government’s policy of doling out excessive amounts of money to businesses and individuals. The inflation rates subsequently were 2023: 3.4% 2024: 2.9% and 2025: 2.7%. Trump’s first year inflation rate was above the trend line. Ultimately, his policies will be even worse than is typical for republican administrations (which are typically bad thanks in part to Reaganomics), possibly the worst in modern history, for this economy.
DeleteWife= of
DeleteAnonymouse 2:22pm, are you sure?
Delete1:25, when did David ever say anything like that?
DeleteI’m old enough to remember when king Orange Chickenshit was the peace candidate
ReplyDeleteNeville Chamberlain was a "peace Prime Minister". His "peace" led to the worst war in history. We should learn from history.
DeletePreventing Iran from carrying out their military ambitions is the best way to maintain peace. Doing nothing is the worst way.
Go take a flying fuck you fascist freak
DeleteHahahaha! Iran started their nuclear program in the mid 1950’s and has been weeks to months away from producing enough weapons grade uranium for at least the last 20 years. How gullible can you be? The Israelis got their first bomb after enough such uranium turned up missing from a repository in Apollo PA that was managed by of all people, a Zionist, during the Ford administration. A member of the Atomic Energy Commission as much as told Ford it was stolen.. You don’t think that Iran could acquire the requisite uranium from one of their allies? You couldn’t be more naive.
DeleteDickhead is in love with King Orange Chickenshit. He’s going to war with Persia to prevent ww3. Lol
DeleteAllowing Iran to carry out their military ambitions by ending the multi-nation non-proliferation deal with inspections proceeding beautifully that the Felon tore up like a deranged child is the worst way to maintain peace. Doing nothing is the only way forward after completely, and I love this word by the way, Obliterating their nuclear program just a few months ago. See also too, Gulf of Tonkin, incubator babies, aluminum tubes and so on and so wag the fucking dog over the pile of Epstein you ignorant fucking piece of shit... For fucks sake you fucking POS flip flopping jaggoff, I want Trump because AmeriKKKa First and Kamala is a war Mongol you stupid evil putz.
Delete6:39: No fair remembering,
Delete"His "peace" led to the worst war in history."
DeleteTell us more. Tell us everything you know about the origins of WWII. Or did you just do that?
What DiC means to say is that kowtowing to Israel's interests is the best way to keep America safe.
Delete“Neville Chamberlain was a "peace Prime Minister". His "peace" led to the worst war in history. We should learn from history.”
DeleteChamberlain knew in 37 that neither Britain nor the U.S. were prepared then for war with Germany. They would have been creamed.
War with Germany before 40 and 41 would have led to a huge defeat for the UK. It was rough in 40 and they’d already armed up.
@6:13 nothing ever happens, until it happens. India and Pakistan went without nukes day after day, year after year. Then, one day, they had nuclear weapons.
ReplyDeleteGo take a flying fuck dickhead fascist freak
DeleteAnd has India or Pakistan used their nuclear weapons? I am more concerned about Trump using nuclear weapons to acquire Greenland.
Delete"Nothing ever happens until it happens." Pakistan acquired its first centrifuge in 1976, was making weapons grade uranium 2 years later, and by the mid 1980s was churning out the equivalent of 2-3 bombs worth of the stuff annually. The idea that Iran has for literally decades been on the verge of making enough of the stuff, having had a nuclear program for 70 years is bizarre. That said, having a nuclear weapon is the best defense against the kind of aggression Trump is now threatening than any other tactic. Zelensky can attest to that.
DeleteIlya - Of course, if Trump really wanted to defeat Denmark and conquer Greenland he wouldn't need nukes. Instead he's using nuclear bluster.
DeleteI don't understand what you're saying, David. In any case, it's anon@9:23 says: nuclear weapons are only useful as a deterrent and the two biggest bullies in the world are Putin and Trump. Trump is a tad more dangerous.
Delete"Instead he's using nuclear bluster." Where did you read that? An immoral cretin would believe that is appropriate.
DeleteThis kind of judicial overreach and delay is why we need prisons to lock up thousands of illegal immigrants who are waiting for a court hearing. https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/02/so-much-habeas.php
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha. Why don't you explain why Obama did not need to construct a network of detention centers while deporting equivalent numbers of immigrants. You are a naive old man about how the world works and what is going on here.
DeleteOr they could have passed bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform that Trump aborted. Dickhead ignores this every time I remind him.
DeleteMeanwhile, when Anthropic drew a red line regarding use of its AI for large scale population surveillance and use in war, the pentagon had the right to cancel its contract with the company. Instead Donald Trump has decided to take down a publicly traded company with a tweet that will undoubtedly affect their stock price, among other things, and possibly destroy the company. An unprecedented attack on a private sector company from the oval office. Users of the popular AI tool, Claude, will be taking notice. Open AI has in solidarity announced the same policy. Just one more reason to fucking hate this asshole and the party that supports him. My hard earned tax dollars will now be spent litigating against a company on the whim of a diapered up infantile old geezer.
ReplyDeleteThe Peace President has now engaged in a coordinated attack against Iran with Israel, if reports are correct. In which case the Zionists in this country, including DiC will be grinning broadly and explaining to us all how that makes this country safer. Bombing Tehran, presumably killing civilians, is something we should be assisting, so say such shitheads. Just one more way for Trump to lower his approval ratings, as the vast majority of Americans want no part of this.
ReplyDeleteYes, the United States of Israel is now at war with Persia. King Orange Chickenshit did not go to Congress because, fuck you, what are you going to do about it! He has warned to expect American deaths. Or as the Orange King calls them, the suckers
DeleteThe US , a wholly owned subsidiary of Israel.
DeleteThe Iranian regime has been at war with the US for decades. Trump responded accordingly.
DeleteIs that what Orange King campaigned on? Wonder why he didn't tell us.
DeleteHe did tell us. During his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump focused heavily on a confrontational stance toward Iran, emphasizing both military action and the necessity for a new nuclear agreement. His rhetoric evolved significantly, as he shifted from a mere emphasis on nuclear containment to openly advocating for regime change in Iran.
DeleteFuck you, he ran on ending wars in ME. U fucking lying sack of shit Zionist fascist
DeleteTrump did end a war in the Middle East. Israel and Hamas are no longer fighting each other.
DeleteThe Iranian regime was implacably committed to geographic expanding by the use of force. Their failure to come to terms with Trump whey they were defensively hopeless shows their irrationality. Military actions was, unfortunately, the only way to stop them
DeleteDavid in Cal,
DeleteIn your opinion, do you have to be a member of the corporate-owned media, to have believed mouth-breathing bigots when they said Trump is a man of peace?
Once the media made the collective decision to dismiss bigotry as the reason Trump was elected President, narratives like Russiagate or Trump being a man of peace were inevitable.
Delete8:43 you are confusing the Iranians with the West Bank Israeli settlers. Show us a map documenting any such expansion, asshole. Trump has successfully put a target on this country for no good reason. Bombing a girl’s school was fucking brilliant. Why don’t you pack up now and live your remaining years in what is clearly your homeland of choice. Once settled on the West Bank you can burn down Palestinian farms and take pot shots at innocents to your heart’s content. Leaving behind a country you helped set up for the next 9/11.
DeleteTurns out, Republican voters only voted for Trump because they're bigots.
DeleteWho knew, other than everybody?
"Trump has successfully put a target on this country for no good reason. "
DeleteAre you saying trying to distract from the Epstein Files Trump's mentioned in over 300,000 times isn't a good reason?
"During his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump focused heavily on a confrontational stance toward Iran, emphasizing both military action and the necessity for a new nuclear agreement."
DeleteThen he whined and cried for over a year that he didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize.
What an asshole.
Trump's a real piece iof shit.
DeleteI'll give you that.
I still say, Trump voters would never let him get away with raping children, if he wasn't a stone cold bigot.
ReplyDeleteOh man.
DeleteIf Trump wasn't making non-whites suffer, his voters would have strung up his pedophile ass years ago.
It is becoming more and more clear that Epstein was likely an agent of Israel. What he had on Trump, they have. Thus, whatever they say, goes. This war is illegal, Trump will get impeached for it in November and we will then have to deal with the garbage he left behind. Including his VP.
ReplyDeleteTrump is putting the finishing touches on the destruction of this country in the service of Zionists.
ReplyDeleteAmerica First!
DeleteIf you don't count Russia and Israel.
Not only could Trump get away with sexually assaulting children for decades by making non-whites suffer, he actually did.
ReplyDelete