‘Trump manufacturing a crisis to make Americans afraid to vote in the midterms’
Donald Trump lost the 2020 election – and has never let it go. This week, the FBI seized ballots from Georgia, a state he claims he won. Is his ego still bruised, or is this part of a far more sinister plan?
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In brief…
- The FBI has seized original copies of voter ballots from Fulton County, Georgia, in what The News Agents say is a coordinated plan to sow distrust among voters, and warn officials to comply with his administration in the 2026 midterms.
- Fulton County commissioner Mo Ivory tells The New Agents that Trump is trying to "manufacture a crisis", and what has happened this week is the first strike of a long-term MAGA plan.
- She says she has no confidence that the FBI won't tamper with the 2020 voting slips, having taken the original, and only, copies Fulton County held.
What’s the story?
You'd think winning a US presidential race twice would be enough for Donald Trump – but not so.
Trump seemingly remains obsessed with the results of the 2020 election, which he did not win, and specifically votes cast in Georgia – which he has repeatedly lied about having rigged the count to favour Joe Biden.
This week, the MAGA-run FBI executed a search warrant for offices in Fulton County, Georgia to investigate the repeatedly debunked claims of vote-rigging.
But this isn’t about what happened in 2020. This is about the November 2026 midterms which Lewis Goodall describes as looking "less secure by the day".
"This is an unusually aggressive move," he says.
"The FBI warrant allows agents to seize everything from this county's 2020 election."
"Trump is sending a message to those election officials that you better do what he wants – otherwise he’s coming after you.”
Emily Maitlis says Trump’s actions in Fulton County are part of a wider scheme to dismantle the very concept of truth in America.
"Americans no longer quite know what to trust," she says.
"All you have to do is sow the seeds in enough people's mind that there is a more complicated picture, in order to get away with doing it next time."
‘Fulton County is just the first to be targeted’
Fulton County commissioner Mo Ivory tells The News Agents she was on-site as the FBI drove away with pallets piled high with voting cards from the 2020 election. They took the original documents, leaving Fulton County without copies.
No one from local authority was allowed to accompany the FBI to ensure the ballot papers were kept secure.
She says she has "no confidence" the FBI or other administration officials would not tamper with the votes, and that Trump himself is attempting to "manufacture a crisis".
"What he is doing is trying to disturb this election," Ivory tells Emily and Lewis.
"He's trying to make people feel that Fulton County doesn't administer elections correctly, therefore they cannot rely on their vote being truthfully tallied.
"This is a crisis in order to make people afraid to go to the polls in 2026."
Fulton County, despite a population of just over a million people, influenced the 2020 vote result in Georgia, which overall contributed to Trump's loss to Biden.
Ivory says what has happened in her district is the first part of a wider, long-term Trump plan.
"The strategy is to cause chaos, make the polls unsafe, bring in the military and militarise our voting," she says.
"This should not be about Democrats and Republicans – this is about your right to vote.
"You still can go to the polls and vote for whoever you want to vote for. This is about breaking down the system of how you vote in order to manipulate the vote.
Teams of officials in Fulton County are now working to get the ballot papers returned.
"This is a president who's obsessed with winning," Ivory adds.
"This is a president who cannot sleep at night unless he is causing chaos in our country
“So instead of worrying about the people who are dying in Minnesota on the streets because of what he's done, he's over here in Fulton County worrying about an election that happened six years ago."
What’s The News Agents’ take?
Donald Trump’s approval rating has been on the decline since the deaths at the hands of ICE agents in Minnesota – which Lewis believes is back to playing the “greatest hits” of his political career, such as election denial.
“Why is he doing this now? He feels vulnerable,” Lewis says.
“He called it wrong in Minnesota. He's misread the politics and his numbers are on the slide.”
Ten months ahead of the 2026 midterms, Trump is already acting to try to make sure he doesn’t lose power to the Democrats.
“We're seeing the Trump administration trying to bully states into handing over responsibility to them over the midterm election,” Lewis adds.
“Trump is clearly sending a signal that these people must do what he says.
“We've seen what's happened in Minnesota, where it seems so credible to imagine that ICE agents are going to be deployed in the run up to the midterm elections and in certain democratic cities – they've had the dress rehearsal.”