COLUMN: Trump Calls for Taking Control of the U.S. Elections

An Intelligence Director Out of Her Role

The most troubling aspect of this raid remains the presence of Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, at the scene of the operation. Photographs taken by Reuters show her standing in a vehicle loaded with boxes, phone to her ear, in front of the polling station. Her presence raises significant legal and ethical questions, as, in her capacity as head of U.S. intelligence, Gabbard is prohibited by law from participating in law enforcement operations within the United States. Her role normally involves monitoring foreign threats, not observing domestic raids related to national elections. Senior officials have stated that her presence was not requested by the Department of Justice and was considered unnecessary.

When the person tasked with protecting the country from foreign threats finds herself in the middle of a police raid on ballots, something serious is broken in the separation of powers. Gabbard was absent during the military operation in Venezuela but found time to be in Georgia for an election-related operation. This administration’s priorities make my blood run cold. It’s as if the guardians of the temple had decided to join in the looting.

Trump Put on Speakerphone with FBI Agents

The New York Times reported particularly disturbing details regarding the Fulton County raid. According to the newspaper, Tulsi Gabbard reportedly called Donald Trump from the scene of the operation and put him on speakerphone with the FBI agents participating in the raid. This direct communication between the president and agents on the ground represents a further erosion of democratic norms and raises concerns about the independence of law enforcement. Never in modern American history has a sitting president been put in direct contact with federal agents during an ongoing operation. This move symbolizes the dangerous blurring of lines between partisan politics and law enforcement that characterizes the current administration.

The president on the phone with agents describing their raid in real time—that’s a scenario we’d expect to see in a dystopian movie, not in the reality of 2026. This image of collusion between political power and law enforcement makes me sick to my stomach. We are witnessing the privatization of republican institutions for the benefit of a single man and his interests. The wall between politics and the police has been reduced to dust.

Senator Warner Condemns a Breach of Duty

Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, strongly criticized Tulsi Gabbard’s decision to travel to Georgia during the FBI raid. During a Senate hearing, Warner stated that there were only two possible explanations for the Director of National Intelligence’s visit: either she believed the case was linked to foreign intelligence and failed in her legal obligation to inform congressional committees, or she was tarnishing the nonpartisan reputation of the intelligence agencies with a political spectacle designed to legitimize conspiracy theories that undermine democracy. Warner added that each scenario represented a serious breach of trust and a dereliction of duty in her office.

Finally, someone who puts into words exactly what is happening. Warner is right to denounce this flagrant violation of constitutional obligations. It is reassuring to see that there are still elected officials capable of saying loud and clear that the emperor has no clothes and that his accomplices, disguised as servants of the state, are destroying the foundations of the republic. Political courage still exists, even when all seems lost.

A Systemic Strategy for Future Elections

The raid on Fulton County should not be viewed in isolation. It is part of a broader strategy aimed at intimidating election officials and casting doubt on the integrity of the U.S. electoral system. The Trump administration has already dismantled centers designed to monitor foreign actors seeking to interfere in U.S. elections. The Department of Justice and the State Department have also shut down similar offices. These actions suggest that the priority is no longer to protect elections from foreign interference, but to use federal institutions to serve the president’s political agenda. Analysts agree that this strategy is likely to intensify as Trump and the Republican Party become less popular.

What is happening in Georgia is just a taste of what lies ahead if we do not act. The systematic dismantling of electoral safeguards terrifies me because of the method used. It is institutional sabotage in the truest sense, carried out with surgical precision. It’s as if they have a roadmap to destroy every safeguard of democracy, one by one, until nothing remains.

A Direct Threat to State Sovereignty

Trump’s call for the nationalization of voting in at least fifteen locations represents a direct threat to the sovereignty of the states in electoral matters. The U.S. Constitution grants states the power to organize their own elections, a fundamental principle of American federalism. By publicly calling on Republicans to take control of the electoral administration, Trump is challenging this long-standing principle. Legal experts warn that such centralization of electoral control could lead to widespread abuses, particularly in the form of voter suppression and the manipulation of results. Civil rights organizations have already expressed concern over this bellicose rhetoric.

When a president calls for the nationalization of voting, it is not a political proposal—it is a call to overthrow the constitutional order. The United States was built on the balance between the states and the federal government, and Trump simply wants to destroy that balance because it doesn’t suit him. This imperial attitude repulses me. He sounds like a medieval monarch who has decided that the rules don’t apply to him.

Officials Standing Up to Intimidation

In the face of this escalation, many local and state election officials have begun to publicly resist federal intimidation. Fulton County announced its intention to sue the Trump administration over the seizure of 2020 voter registration records, arguing that this action constituted a violation of state sovereignty. Election officials from several states have issued joint statements affirming that they will continue to administer elections independently and in accordance with the law, despite pressure from Washington. This resistance is gradually taking shape, but the limited resources of local governments—up against the power of the federal government—raise questions about their ability to hold their ground in the long term.

It is in these moments of crisis that we discover the true heroes of democracy. These unsung civil servants, who are defending their polling places against the most powerful administration in the world, deserve our admiration. Their courage gives me a glimmer of hope in this bleak landscape. They prove that there are still people willing to sacrifice their comfort to protect what truly matters.

Growing Concern Among Democratic Allies

The situation has not gone unnoticed on the international stage. Many of the United States’ democratic allies have privately expressed concern over the erosion of American democratic standards. At the World Economic Forum in Davos this month, Trump raised the issue of the 2020 election with foreign leaders and business executives, asserting that people would soon be prosecuted for what they had done. This rhetoric has particularly alarmed European partners, who see this attitude as a threat to global stability and the defense of democratic values. Diplomats fear that the United States will lose its credibility as a model for peaceful transitions of power.

The irony is cruel: the United States, which has spent decades lecturing the entire world on democracy, is now becoming the example not to follow. I am ashamed of my country when I see European leaders worrying about the state of our democracy. We used to be the bastion; now we are the danger zone. This reversal of roles breaks my heart.

Democracy in Peril

The series of events that have unfolded since the Fulton County raid through Trump’s public call for the nationalization of the vote poses an existential threat to American democracy as we know it. Tulsi Gabbard’s presence at the scene of a domestic law enforcement operation, direct communication between the president and FBI agents, and open calls to take control of the electoral process constitute a pattern of behavior more reminiscent of an authoritarian regime than of a constitutional democracy. The coming months will be decisive in determining whether American institutions are robust enough to withstand this unprecedented pressure or whether they will collapse under the weight of one man’s ambition.

We have reached the moment we hoped we would never see: the moment when we must choose between the ease of surrender and the difficulty of resistance. Democracy does not defend itself; it needs citizens willing to fight for it, not just on Election Day but every day. I fear for the future of our country, but I refuse to give in to despair. There is still time, but the window of opportunity is slowly closing. The choice is still ours.

Signed, Jacques Provost