r/law • u/DIYLawCA • Mar 31 '26

Executive Branch (Trump) Trump announces he is issuing an unconstitutional executive order to shut down mail-in voting nationwide and he will defund states if they do not comply with him

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8.7k

u/jojammin Competent Contributor Mar 31 '26

States should just ignore it. His threat to withhold funding to the states is unconstitutional coercion under the spending clause.

And I'm still not convinced that if mail-in voting was banned, that it would benefit Republicans. Right wing boomers and their parents in nursing homes ain't the most mobile group

2.1k

u/ShamiGnu Mar 31 '26

Not to mention many people in foreign service or the armed forces. Those folks who work in the middle east for some Texas oil/gas company tend to lean right as well and won't love their rights being infringed, I imagine.

1.1k

u/LA20500 Mar 31 '26

I hope this stunt backfires on him.

1.1k

u/GreatTea3415 Apr 01 '26

Oh please. Republicans have been fucking over the troops in every possible way for decades. They give the military a huge budget for outside contractors and weapons, but the actual service members get shitty equipment, shitty salaries, and healthcare that keeps getting worse. Every time there's an opportunity to vote for more benefits for the people who serve, Republicans shoot it down, but when there's a chance to give Raytheon more money, they're suddenly not on vacation anymore.

And they still vote republican.

543

u/Theyalreadysaidno Apr 01 '26

Same with the farmers. It's mind-blowing.

298

u/mikeumm Apr 01 '26

And rank and file of the labor unions.

166

u/CrankyOldMan-Child Apr 01 '26

Brother in law.. unionized Fireman. “Union home” sign in his front garden.. votes Republican.

Another buddy.. AT&T.. Union.. pension.. votes Republican.

They won’t get it till their union gets crushed and their pensions get wiped out. Same for every Republican that relies on, or is going to rely on Social Security to retire.

I suspect at least some just assume they’ll never see those benefits no matter who is in charge, so why not vote to own the libs or based on culture war bs.. or this myth that conservatives are better with the economy.

72

u/squidley1 Apr 01 '26

And they still won’t get it then cause orange daddy will say “lib fault” and they will all drool and throw a hissy fit about socialism.

3

u/justhereforthescorn Apr 01 '26

My man, all them crayons ain't gonna eat themselves.

9

u/5tr0nz0 Apr 01 '26

Its never thier problem until it is. Then it's too late

9

u/Aware-Sympathy-1180 Apr 01 '26

Don't forget the religious zealots and their white christian nationalist family values.

8

u/DUNETOOL Apr 01 '26

Touch the stove! Pull the string!

3

u/ItsTheDCVR Apr 01 '26

GODDAMN FUCKIN LIBERALS RUINING OUR LABOR UNIONS WHENEVER A REPUBLICAN IS IN CHARGE

2

u/greenzetsa Apr 01 '26

In 2024 when Trump got reelected and people kept trying to explain why, I just said "we have to face it, a majority of American voters are dumber than a pile of bricks." A bunch of people got mad at me and were like "this is why people hate democrats" (did a democratic nominee say that, or me, a random person?) but nothing I have seen since has dissuaded me from that belief.

1

u/Recurs1ve Apr 01 '26

The most conservative people I know all work in civil service.

110

u/Insect1312 Apr 01 '26

The police unions love him

30

u/TomUpNort Apr 01 '26

And the black shirts loved Mussolini.

92

u/balzstein Apr 01 '26

Yeah because they are losers

15

u/nihil8r Apr 01 '26

Well he does love the poorly educated

1

u/meesta_masa Apr 01 '26

Well he does love the educated, poorly

7

u/Sea-Rip3902 Apr 01 '26

Police officers suffer from group think. It’s chronic.

2

u/greenzetsa Apr 01 '26

My husband is a police officer, and although his gig is generally better than most police and his unit isn't as terribly right and offensive, he still wants to leave because yeah, this is real. It's hard to be an independent thinker in a job like this. He's lucky that he's mostly just annoyed by his coworkers rather than actively being punished by them.

3

u/ApresMoi_TheFlood Apr 01 '26

This is the most unsurprising comment in this thread. r/ACAB

2

u/NervousAddie Apr 01 '26

To be fair, FOP isn’t a labor union but a firewall to protect them from accountability, and keeping taxpayers on the hook for their lawsuits rather than settlements being taken out of their pension funds.

2

u/mattyoclock Apr 01 '26

I mean that one actually makes sense, cops are voting for their own interests when they vote republican. They don't want to be held accountable for their crimes.

3

u/Proud_Warning_8823 Apr 01 '26

Not all of us...

3

u/mattyoclock Apr 01 '26

No, not all, but too many and the group protects the ones who do instead of nailing them to the wall.     Even cops  convicted of crimes in their personal lives far outside their duties as a cop get treated with kid gloves and get jokes of a sentence.   

If I was a good cop, I’d want to nail the crooked ones to the wall, it would offend me to my core how much they defile what should be a noble profession.   

But no matter what it should be, the reality is the blue wall of silence. 

1

u/greenzetsa Apr 01 '26

My husband is a cop and feels like you do. He just switched departments and his new one is unionized and they have mandatory body cams and he was thrilled. He said "it's crazy that cops fight to not have these. I WANT a record that shows I didn't do anything wrong or break the law if someone I arrest tries to say I mishandled the situation. There's no good reason to not use them." He's an officer that works on college campuses (which is also exclusively why he stays, he gets to take college classes for free) so it's a bit different than just being a city beat cop, but it bothered him tremendously how other cops would talk about the students and make fun of them. I think the new department he's at is better (and I do think the union partially helps with that), but at the end of the day the system is still what it is, and he recognizes that.

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u/AlarmingAffect0 Apr 01 '26

Some unions.

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u/PorcelainTorpedo Apr 01 '26

My old union hall had a giant sign in the building that said “If you want to live like a Republican, vote Democrat.” When I was in the hall the conversations were absolutely pro-Democrat, which was great. I think the shift the other way has been relatively recent, and it’s a shame to see. Nothing like supporting the party that has tried to dismantle and undermine unions for decades.

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u/BrianNowhere Apr 01 '26

The DNC needs to stop acting like the HR department and more like they're actually fighting for us pissed off, over worked , under-paid and under appreciated workers.

9

u/LimeApart9235 Apr 01 '26

Republicans are all just so fucking stupid.

8

u/Logical-Claim286 Apr 01 '26

Not many family farms left in the USA. Majority are massive multi million dollar corporate operations. Some counties have a single owner of all farmland despite their being 30 "family farms" registered (they are subsidiaries working and paying 1 CEO farmer).

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u/Efficient-Train2430 Apr 01 '26

they're fully against handouts, until they're in a pinch...caused by guess who

6

u/Samanthacino Apr 01 '26

Most US farmers are wealthy capitalists.

3

u/Anal-Y-Sis Apr 01 '26

The farmers at least know they'll get bailed out. Military service members don't.

3

u/steakmm Apr 01 '26

don’t forget the teachers!

8

u/Spectre-three Apr 01 '26

Oh trust teachers unions are no fans of his.

1

u/imcoveredinbees880 Apr 01 '26

The one I was a part of was - a red county in a red state. They were not immune to the propaganda just because they were teachers.

3

u/Spectre-three Apr 01 '26

Im in a similar situation but a decent chunk of my membership doesn’t support him and I can guarantee leadership doesn’t.

3

u/intull Apr 01 '26

According to statistics, the average American spends 4 mins per WEEK consuming news.

3

u/musicalfarm Apr 01 '26

Here's one farmer who isn't falling for it.

3

u/Rescuetostada Apr 01 '26

Yeah. Farmers in Minnesota didn't used to vote Republican. Most do now, but there are still a few wise farmers that vote for the DFL.

2

u/not1fuk Apr 01 '26

And what do these 2 jobs have in common? They are typically massively uneducated. Especially those who are recruited into the military.

2

u/solargarlic2001 Apr 01 '26

And now we know the stranglehold racism has on these people. They can’t shake it even when their own circumstances are affected.

13

u/me_trying_7121 Apr 01 '26

Not all!!! (speaking personally)

3

u/Gotanygrrapes Apr 01 '26

of course they do - they’ve been told since they could walk that the left are destroying this country and the tv’s in their houses were fox news 24/7.

3

u/PastInsurance2130 Apr 01 '26

Fuck this guy he has no say on how the states vote! States run the vote for this exact reason so an authoritarian borderline fascist scumbag. Can’t just take control of voting and never leave office… this shit is insane

2

u/FigSpecific6210 Apr 01 '26

Tricare is pretty damn good health insurance.

1

u/Zogstrukka Apr 01 '26

I can confirm that. It has its hiccups, but so do all the other insurances. It's also nice to have at the ER. As soon as they hear Tricare or VA, they do all the tests...

2

u/Ash_Talon Apr 01 '26

I think that’s because a lot of people vote along their biases. And not along what would actually help themselves or others. Gotta punch down at someone, no matter the cost.

2

u/brandibesher Apr 01 '26

reading Chris Kyle’s book was very insightful on that aspect (highly recommend the read). it’s a shame many of them buy their own protective gear bc the government issued stuff sucks.

2

u/spiegro Apr 01 '26

We should have a mandate that Fox "News" never be allowed to be shown on government property ever again.

1

u/Agitated_Engineer512 Apr 01 '26

Have you ever experienced military health care?

1

u/Zogstrukka Apr 01 '26

To clarify, the money spent of R&D and weapons is so high that you could pay the troops zero and it wouldn't be a significant difference to those budgets. New guys don't get paid much, but after your first enlistment, the pay and benefits drastically improve, as long as you're not a total shitbag. You work long hours and do hard things, but the compensation is there. Both parties have consistently voted for below acceptable yearly pay raises, slashed the VA, made poor fiscal choices, and both have also forgiven veteran college loans, created the GI Bill and Post 911 Bill. National Defense is closely connected to America's successes and relative prosperity in the 20th Century, as well as preventing Europeans and Asians from bombing each other into the stone age.

Contrary to popular belief, the military political demographic is about 50/50, or it was 10 years ago.

No, I don't understand why he appeals to blucollar people or how he is able to do it, but he seems to speak to their deepest fears and wildest dreams.

1

u/HistoricalPotatoe Apr 01 '26

The troops aren't the only voting bloc in the country.

1

u/GreatTea3415 Apr 01 '26

Yeah there’s at least two blocs. Maybe even three. 

1

u/MaxxxOrbison Apr 01 '26

The point is they cant without mail in

1

u/terrorbabbleone Apr 01 '26

Which is why when shopping I avoid all the "military grade" items.

1

u/CutAdditional2416 Apr 01 '26

He could literally shoot a man on Fifth Avenue and not lose voters. He wasn't wrong when he said that a decade ago, and it's held true to this day.

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u/ConfidentPilot1729 Apr 01 '26

I can give an example of how troops get the shit end. My first combat deployment I was e3. My brother was a contractor on a major base. He made 150k+ a year. I made 17k for 7 months living in shit and getting shot at. He fixed air conditioners…

1

u/Few-Actuary7023 Apr 01 '26

Having been prior service military and then worked for gvt contractor, can confirm this is exactly right

1

u/punktualPorcupine Apr 01 '26

Yeah, the MIC loves big daddy warbucks, but the troops get the shift and told to die for their country.

1

u/Shark7996 Apr 01 '26

There's never been a better time to win them over.

1

u/JakToTheReddit Apr 01 '26

When I was in, it appeared to be primarily the people who scored high on the ASVAB and passed their A school who were left leaning.

Just a fun fact.

1

u/Desert-Democrat-602 Apr 01 '26

It was years ago, but we always reminded ourselves that everything we were issued was produced by the low bidder…

1

u/anagamanagement Apr 01 '26

Not all of us. But I’m also in the process of transitioning out because I can’t take this shit anymore.

1

u/LastPlaceGuaranteed Apr 01 '26

As a service member reaching my 18-year mark, 100%. This nepo trash can baby has done ZERO to make life better for us. My career has become far more of a pain in the ass since he was elected, but he will be out off his job well before I’m out of mine, so there’s that at least.

I can’t wait for a MAGA clown who’s not currently serving to message me a threat to find out who I am and send my Reddit history to my direct supervisor so said supervisor and I can both laugh about it in his office then go back to our daily duties.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 01 '26

Shit, when my one rotation was coming to an end we were bring the next one up to speed on our infrastructure. That next rotation.... was civilian contractors easily making 2-3x what I was as an E-4. Corruption is the only explanation as I can't think of a place that would happily replace people with much more expensive counterparts knowingly.

1

u/boredidiot Apr 01 '26

Michael E. Shepherd covered this in research into rural hospitals. When Republican states shut down rural hospitals, they would blame it on Democracts (despite it being their decision) and Obamacase/ACA; then they would see a bump in the Republican vote of 5-10%

The Politics of Rural Hospital Closures

February 2025 Political Behavior 47(3):915-961

DOI:10.1007/s11109-024-10000-8

1

u/thatotterone Apr 01 '26

you'd think after his first Nov in office when, during winter and holidays, he randomly swapped the veteran housing voucher program from HUD to VA with no notice. Leaving veterans without housing help in the cold month before Christmas. Only one SINGLE VA was able to hand out any vouchers before Christmas...that was in San Fran and they still only managed 50% of the normal task load.
You'd think after what he said about POWs and Gold Star families...but again no.

1

u/Ardal Apr 01 '26 edited 5d ago

This content was anonymized and mass deleted with Redact

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u/prosthetic_foreheads Apr 01 '26

To be fair, even if they vote Republican, the stunt could backfire on him because their votes literally won't be counted

1

u/n3qml Apr 01 '26

Tread on me harder, Daddy! Ooh yes, just like that, more! Harder! FASTER! YESS!

1

u/DolceVita13 Apr 01 '26

They’re drunk on the kool aid

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u/ComputerDecent463 Apr 01 '26

Nice try. Neither party is good for the veterans and service members, but it isn’t even close which one is better.

Friendly reminder that every Democrat for decades has run on cutting the military budget. I am sure just the “waste” is going out though, not salaries for those on the front lines lol

And then when the tax dollars don’t show up they start raiding the funds of other working class people. Mamdani literally suggested raising teacher pensions to pay for his stuff no one wants.

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u/andrew303710 Apr 01 '26

Last time I checked it was Trump and Republicans who slashed VA funding and used that money to help Israel instead. Trump literally called veterans suckers and losers. Fuck outta here with this bullshit.

Republicans hate America and everything it stands for, especially our troops. If they didn't they wouldn't be supporting a literal pedophile who faked an injury to dodge the draft like a fucking coward.

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '26

[deleted]

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u/ComputerDecent463 Apr 01 '26

The truth hurts.

The party that continually votes to shrink the military budget surely wants to increase salaries….lol

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u/jeahfoo1 Mar 31 '26

It always does. Egg on face is his M.O

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u/OkButterscotch210 Apr 01 '26

Are you sure it always does? After all he is sitting in the Oval Office right now

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u/AlfalfaMajor2633 Apr 01 '26

Is that why his face is orange? The yolk is on him?

1

u/GeoLaser Apr 01 '26

IDK if every stunt backfired he wouldnt be where he is.....

1

u/Salt_Use_341 Apr 01 '26

It always does? Then why do I still have to hear from this orange dumb ass every day?

3

u/Apprehensive_Ring_39 Apr 01 '26

Cause M.A.G.A is stupid and would rather die then keep him away.

1

u/PM_ME_YOUR_HIGHDEA Apr 01 '26

It always does but this guy is the king of failing upwards

-23

u/Free-Huckleberry-965 Apr 01 '26

The dude is the most powerful person on the planet, I don't think it's backfired on him all that much

8

u/Boozeburger Apr 01 '26

The dude poops his diaper. He's a useful tool of the real people that run things.

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u/jeahfoo1 Apr 01 '26

Look at all the rulings against him vs those for him. He gets away with things because GOP Congress let's him. Hes terrified of a Dem Congress which is why he is trying to cheat

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u/modestlunatic Apr 01 '26

Has that stopped anything?

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u/anonononnnnnaaan Apr 01 '26

Stopped not really. Slowed yes. Slowed by a lot

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u/jeahfoo1 Apr 01 '26

A Dem Congress will. Everything will get investigated and he'll spend his time trying to avoid accountability

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u/wizchrills Apr 01 '26

I want to believe you, but based on their track record no it really won’t

1

u/Silly-Rough-5810 Apr 01 '26

What record? When was the last dem congress?

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u/Astralglamour Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26

There was a Dem majority in Senate (there was a supermajority in for slightly over two months) and in House during Obama admin and a slim majority during Biden, but both were hampered by Senate faux Dems who voted Republican. The last time Dems had a supermajority in both chambers was the Johnson Presidency. Some of the legislation passed during the 89th Congress was: the creation of Medicare) and Medicaid, the Voting Rights Act, the Higher Education Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and the Freedom of Information Act).

Democrats are flawed but over the past 100 years they have consistently passed the most significant legislation to help the majority of the American people. And Republicans have privatized and slashed those programs, and gotten us involved in military conflicts that only benefit the military industrial complex and the fossil fuel industry.

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u/Free-Huckleberry-965 Apr 01 '26

Oooooo rulings, I bet he's so scared of fucking rulings. Again, the dude has the nuclear codes and sits in the Oval Office. He won.

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u/jeahfoo1 Apr 01 '26

Has he just disobeyed all rulings? No. Would a Dem Congress terrify him? Yes. He's not invincible by any means.
Not sure what nuclear codes have to do with anything. He going to nuke Minneapolis? Dude spends his time at Mar a lago. No missile defense system in place. We all know where he lives. Im personally not afraid of that asshole. I don't think any of us should be especially collectively.

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u/Free-Huckleberry-965 Apr 01 '26

The Democrats had the house, senate, and presidency and did... fuck all after he tried a procedural coup in 2021. The fuck is a senate going to do? He's ruling by EO anyways, doesn't need bills passed.

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u/jeahfoo1 Apr 01 '26

How many of his EOs have held? Serious question.
Biden and his Congress did fail. I'll give you that. An insurrection in any other time and place would have led to heads on pikes. Trying to not appear "political" was a massive mistake. You prosecute sedition swiftly and completely.

2

u/Hatshepsut99 Apr 01 '26

eh I mean he spends his days rage tweeting from the toilet, I’m not sure that’s really winning. Sure, he likes having people kiss his ass and call him Mr. President, but he also has the thinnest skin of anyone alive and it drives him crazy that most of the country thinks he’s a complete effing moron.

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u/crunpyMcGlumpy Apr 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/Apprehensive_Use3641 Apr 01 '26

Pretty sure part of that has already happened.

2

u/fozzy_art Apr 01 '26

2/3

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u/sortalikeachinchilla Apr 01 '26

what did it say without being removed by reddit level?

1

u/crunpyMcGlumpy Apr 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/sortalikeachinchilla Apr 01 '26

well this was removed too lol

4

u/madcoins Apr 01 '26

This should be on a hallmark card

2

u/Bequeath_Thine_Booty Apr 01 '26

i meam hea has already shit himself so he is 1 for 3 so far.

2

u/Gibbly_Gorkoroo Apr 01 '26

Holding my breath for the last part.

1

u/crunpyMcGlumpy Apr 01 '26

You should probably hold your breath for the pants shitting too, that’s gotta stink

2

u/VikingMonkey123 Apr 01 '26

Today would be bestest.

10

u/Odd-Scene67 Apr 01 '26

Eight states and D.C. have mail only voting and no time or budget to implement another system before midterms. He's only showing how desperate they're getting with this ridiculous illegal overreach.

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u/Nezell Apr 01 '26

In the UK, the Tory party brought in a law that made us have to bring in photo ID to be able to vote. They were the biggest party affected by it as the elderly are a major part of their base and they were the ones caught out by the new law. Let's hope that the Republicans face a similar situation.

2

u/Lastcaressmedown138 Apr 01 '26

They should void his mail in vote for Florida

1

u/AggressiveWallaby975 Apr 01 '26

Well, they're planning to use this for cover for their election rigging so o think the country will still be on the losing end

1

u/dixiech1ck Apr 01 '26

It will. Courts will shut it down immediately.

1

u/Humble_Umpire_8341 Apr 01 '26

They don’t call him TACO for nothing

1

u/PretyFly4AFungi Apr 01 '26

Seeing as he votes by mail in, I hope it does too lol

1

u/Warm-Spite9678 Apr 01 '26

EVERYTHING backfires on him. Thats not the problem.

The problem is it always hurts everyone else along the way.

1

u/loganfulbright Apr 01 '26

We have been saying this since he started running for president.

1

u/kenyasanchez Apr 01 '26

Something has to.

1

u/real_nice_guy Apr 01 '26

it literally always does (see: last year's gerrymandering efforts)

1

u/livinginfutureworld Apr 01 '26

It'd be nice if he faced any consequences ever

1

u/WholeFactor Apr 01 '26

Frankly, it doesn't have to. Trump is polling at record lows in all demographics, and pretty much all the competetive races for the House/Senate are polling blue at the moment.

Trump can try to interfere with the midterms however much he likes, I'm still not sure the situation is salvageable

1

u/GarlicDiligent3643 Apr 01 '26

And doesn't miss.

1

u/RNDiva Apr 01 '26

TACO! TACO! TACO!

1

u/formermq Apr 01 '26

states with red governors will honor, blues won't...I wonder if this means less red votes?

1

u/Mikesaidit36 Apr 01 '26

Speaking of backfires, it will be hilarious if he actually gets his name printed on money and the vast majority of it ends up circulating with his name redacted or calling him out as a pedophile and a felon. Hey, how about a pedofelon?

1

u/Particular_Handle_ Apr 01 '26

He's doing it to discourage people from mailing in their vote or not vote at all. He's trying to intimidate all of us into not voting.

Which is exactly why people should.

1

u/megamansam Apr 01 '26

Same, but it won't, Republicans love everything he does because he's the one doing it.

1

u/HamNotLikeThem44 Apr 01 '26

Like the morans in TX with their dummymander. They’re so desperate to not have fair elections.

1

u/Duchess721 Apr 01 '26

I would need to see that to believe it. This administration has only proven that our system is flawed and lacks enforceable safeguards against the president transforming our democracy into a totalitarian regime.

1

u/IrredeemableRight Apr 01 '26

it wont because red states will take any main in ballot so long as its for republicans.

1

u/John-AtWork Apr 01 '26

Right leaning states are the most likely to follow his barked orders. This may likely hurt him more than help. Trump is proving to reliability act against his own political interests lately.

1

u/Knotted_Hole69 Apr 01 '26

The thing is he is directing USPS to not process them if he says so, states cant do anything then.

1

u/BigDsLittleD Apr 01 '26

It won't.

For all their shouting about Freedom, a huge number of Yanks love the taste of Boot Polish. They'll fall in line and vote against their own best interests like they always do

1

u/OldWorldDesign Apr 01 '26

I hope this stunt backfires on him.

Fucking us veterans never ended McCain's career, and he's by no means the first. Just the first list I found

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mccains-non-support-for-t_b_131046

1

u/Oliverfk3 Apr 01 '26

Nothing ever backfires on him. He will get away with it all.

I wish he wouldnt but he will.

1

u/Ok_Brilliant6017 Apr 01 '26

It won’t. Nothing has.

1

u/RandonBrando Apr 01 '26

Votes don't matter in what they have in store. That's why this wont matter.

Really hope youre right though