Donald Trump questioned the security of the US electoral system in a speech to the nation.Image: keystone
interview
Donald Trump has spoken for the umpteenth time about large-scale election fraud in the USA. Political scientist Julien Labarre explains what goals Trump is pursuing and how he is damaging US democracy.
July 17, 2026, 8:17 p.mJuly 17, 2026, 8:17 p.m
Donald Trump spoke again of election fraud in his speech to the American people last night. Do you share his view that the US system is vulnerable to electoral fraud?
Julien Labarre: Even if President Trump repeats it like a mantra and exaggerates it, the study remains very clear: election fraud is negligible in the USA. It is simply not a systemic problem.
Why does Trump continue to sow doubts about the robustness of the US electoral system?
It is actually a pattern in Trump’s behavior to question the integrity of election results in advance. He did this in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. And he’s doing it again now before the midterms. In the past he has relied on this strategy in order to be able to cast doubt on a possible election defeat. In the present he pursues two goals.
Which?
Trump’s speech yesterday had the clear purpose of aligning and intimidating dissident Republicans in Congress. He really wants Republicans to vote as one for his so-called Save America Act, which aims to significantly increase the hurdles for Americans to take part in elections. Among other things, they would have to be able to prove their US citizenship and would ultimately be prevented from voting by post, barring exceptional cases – a goal that Donald Trump has been pursuing for a long time. But because this goes too far even for certain Republicans, he has not yet found the necessary 60-vote majority in the Senate.
To person
Labarre’s main interests are the US media system and the question of the current state of US democracy. In his doctoral thesis, he looked at what happens when citizens lose trust in political institutions and dignitaries due to systematic misinformation.
Image: zvg
It is estimated that nine percent of Americans do not have an official document that would prove their US citizenship. How can that actually be?
Unlike many other countries, the USA does not have the concept of a personal identity card. The passport is therefore probably the most accessible official proof of US citizenship. But because many Americans do not need a passport in everyday life and have therefore never applied for one, they actually cannot identify themselves as US citizens.
And that’s why the Democrats and some Republicans are resisting the tightening of voting rights?
In general, the following applies in the USA: the more documents you have to present, the greater the systemic inequalities. In the USA, US citizens can often only obtain such documents at the office. We’re talking about offices that are sometimes several hours’ drive away. For people who have to stay afloat with two or three jobs, this is simply not an option. And that is just one of the hurdles to obtaining such documents.
What is the second reason why Trump is currently talking about election fraud again?
In doing so, he is paving the way for intimidation campaigns. It would not be the first time that the USA would resort to extraordinary measures under Donald Trump. Some fear he would even go so far as to use martial law. Many people are worried that Trump will station ICE officers outside election offices, for example. Or that right-wing extremist organizations will patrol there. Their presence alone could deter many people from voting.
How do you look ahead to the midterms?
With concern. Trump’s long-term strategy is to undermine confidence in the elections. At the moment we have to seriously question whether these will be fair and free elections. On the one hand, because Trump’s government is doing everything it can to use gerrymandering to shape the electoral districts in its favor. On the other hand, because Trump is openly demanding that certain groups of voters be excluded from voting.
If you listened to Trump yesterday, you still got the impression that he is very concerned about the state of US democracy. What exactly is he doing to protect her?
Nothing. That’s the whole point. Trump constantly talks about election fraud and foreign interference. At least the second aspect cannot be dismissed out of hand and also concerns the US secret services and security experts. But Trump doesn’t have any solutions. He can’t think of anything other than banning postal voting. And that has nothing to do with it at all.
Postal voting has long been a thorn in Donald Trump’s side. He wants to make it much more difficult: Image: EPA
Both Democrats and Republicans portray themselves as the guardians of American democracy. What do you conclude from this?
What’s exciting is that protecting democracy means completely opposite things for both parties. For Republicans, it means restricting the number of people who can vote and making the election process more difficult. For Democrats, protecting democracy means the exact opposite: making it easier for citizens to vote.
You yourself do a lot of research on epistemic vulnerability. What do you mean by that and what does Trump have to do with it?
One of the most important points of the concept is disorientation. Epistemic vulnerability arises when people no longer know what is true and what is false – and no longer know where to get accurate information. Donald Trump contributes much to this disorientation and instability by constantly lying. Previous presidents have lied, too, but they haven’t done it so consistently or shamelessly. Now, when people are confronted with lies all day long, they begin to question everything around them – including true information.
Electronic voting machines, like those here in North Carolina for the 2024 presidential election, are also unsafe, Trump claims.Image: AP
We can build back the bridge here. When Trump claims in advance that the election was stolen, it promotes exactly this uncertainty and disorientation.
Exactly. What drives democracies is trust in political institutions, processes and people. Without a minimum of trust there can be no democracy. And Trump has been deliberately undermining this trust for years. At some point, polarization and hostility reach such a level that political opponents are more willing to sacrifice basic democratic principles than trust each other. I believe this is the greatest threat to American democracy right now.
Trump calls for passage of the “Save America Act”
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