President Donald Trump issued a foreboding proclamation during a speech in Maryland on Tuesday, just hours after he predicted a “Midterm Surprise!” in a Truth Social post.

“Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, who’s fantastic, he’s on a job, we have some big surprises coming up in another few weeks. Right, Russ?” Trump said. “He’s gonna be one of the very important people in the history of our country, in my opinion. He’s got some great things happening.”

Trump did not expand on what these so-called “surprises” would be.

Outside his role in the Trump administration, Vought is the primary architect of Project 2025, the conservative Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a second Trump term.

While not mentioned specifically by Trump, many critics online speculated that Trump was referring to some sort of plan to interfere in the midterm elections.

“Between this and his ‘midterm surprise,’ the time to prepare for him to try to steal an election is now,” Fox News host Jessica Tarlov wrote on X.

Other commenters suggested that Vought could use his official capacity to interfere with the elections.

“I know nothing about Project 2025”

-Trump, 2024

  • WanderWisley@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    Here’s a quick summary of what I think he is gonna do.

    1. Declare a state of emergency in order to prevent the midterms.
    2. if step 1 doesn’t happen then he will have armed guards at as many polling stations as possible, especially in blue/poor states.
    3. when the republicans are hopefully defeated in the midterms he will cry foul and that the democrats cheated. Calling for another January 6th across the nation.
    4. regardless of the outcome Donny will then invaded Iran.
    5. going into the Christmas holiday or the beginning of 2027 he will try to get the Supreme Court to give him the right to run a 3rd term.
    6. when that doesn’t happen (fingers crossed) he will still run for a 3rd term anyway.
  • Pratai@piefed.ca
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    1 hour ago

    In other words:

    Stay tuned for his next totally illegal, but totally allowed grift of what’s left on American democracy.

    He raped kids. Lady Justice is not off-limits.

  • maxthemummer@lemmus.org
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    2 hours ago

    “Well, our Democratic governor took away our plastic grocery bags and last summer, suggested that people in big cities turn their AC down to avoid brown outs, so I’m OK with whatever Republicans can do to fix those things.” - My low information voting family.

  • tigermountain@lemmy.world
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    1 hour ago

    The time to prepare for him to steal the election has long since passed. And we all know with absolute certainty he will scream to the rooftops every single day that the midterms were stolen if democrats manage to take the House and/or Senate. What the democrats should be doing now is prebunking these claims. They should all be talking about how he will claim the election was stolen and then explain the psychology behind these statements. It lessens its impact.

  • Smaile@lemmy.ca
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    5 hours ago

    Watch Americans do nothing, if y’all do nothing when Donald’s nulifyed the election, nobody is going to respect what you say or do anymore, no matter what. You think euros are annoying now making fun of you, just wait until Donald trys nullifying states rights.

    • Pratai@piefed.ca
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      54 minutes ago

      We did noting when we found out he raped children. Complacency is support.

    • rumba@lemmy.zip
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      3 hours ago

      Most of us agree with you, We’ve had protests; we just haven’t dialed it up to France.

      outside of a general strike, nothing will change, no chance of that happening until he nulls the midterms, slim chance after that.

  • TipRing@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    A literal coup, seizing voting machines and denying results, arresting Democratic candidates who won their elections. We’ve already established that the law and the constitution means nothing to this administration so everything is on the table.

        • Pratai@piefed.ca
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          57 minutes ago

          She’s a plant to give the other three morons on that show a platform to spread propaganda.

        • lost_faith@lemmy.ca
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          7 hours ago

          No, if you can stomach the rest of that crew you will be very content with her actions. She is basically paid to be the “other” view point, the left. She is constantly attacked by the other 4 on that panel, Greg Gutfeld? mostly, and she attacks back. She is fun to watch but I can’t for long due to the others. Check out the show she is on, I’m sure you have seen her if the news people you watch use clips.

          • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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            4 hours ago

            I wouldn’t check out the show, unless you do it in a way that doesn’t drive money into their pockets. It doesn’t really matter how good she is if she’s just a vehicle to peddle their bullshit.

            • lost_faith@lemmy.ca
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              4 hours ago

              I find the clips to be enough. She is on the other side to the rest, outnumbered 4:1 and still gets her points across, hopefully opening some rep voter eyes

  • Gerudo@lemmy.zip
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    9 hours ago

    That’s funny, the midterms are also in a few weeks. What a coincidence. I’m sure it’s nothing about that right?

  • BooBees@fedinsfw.app
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    10 hours ago

    I like how Trump can’t help but preemptively throw his sycophants under the bus just in case things go wrong and someone has to be held accountable

      • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today
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        9 hours ago

        This is what he will try to do, but we can’t allow Schmuck & Jeffries to just accept it with stern rebuke. We have to SLAM every Representative ad Senator with intense pressure to fight back. Their phones should be ringing non-stop, their email inbox should be full, and they shouldn’t be able to go ANYWHERE without citizens demanding action.

        If they still won’t defend our Democracy, if they just let MAGA walk away with it, then they become as much the enemy as MAGA. The only way they’ll act is if they are afraid of us, so we’ll need to be extremely aggressive, and it will get ugly.

        • Grainne@anarchist.nexus
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          8 hours ago

          Your solution to attempts to illegally coup the nation is phone calls to the side doing it to demand they support you instead?

          • BooBees@fedinsfw.app
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            7 hours ago

            Everyone knows that if your bpd violent ex is in the middle of setting your car and house on fire you resolve it by waiting patiently for cuffing season to begin again and then text them cordially to ask them to work with you so this behavior can cease and turn into something more productive.

            • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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              1 hour ago

              This is the inherit problem with democracy, or at least the American implementation of it.

              If the government “goes rogue” and starts ignoring the pleas and will of the people, it can no longer be fixed within the system itself.

              If the only solution is to work outside the system, then what is the point of democracy in the first place?

      • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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        9 hours ago

        They are criminals who verifiably attempted to steal every election Trumps been involved with. There’s a reasonable chance they succeeded, and wouldn’t have won any without the various direct and indirect election fraud tactics (that go by other terms but are just as criminal; some are “legal” e.g. gerrymandering).

        There is literally zero chance they don’t attempt to steal all future elections. That’s what psychopathic criminals do.

    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      I hope the Democrats find some time to get Vought at a hearing to ask some very pointed questions about his little document there.