Donald Trump's destruction of the U.S. security apparatus could result in a terrorist attack on American soil that he would use to win the midterms.
Posted by Robinson's Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 5 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 50%
Robinson's PodcastSep 23, 2026
The claim is a conditional forecast: a possible future terrorist attack that Trump would later exploit to win the midterms. Sources document reduced counterterrorism capacity and experts' warnings of elevated risk, but none reports an attack or any use of one to influence the midterms, so the claim cannot be graded as true or false.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… with mail-in voting, though already that's going to sow doubt about the election results, but he's clearly signaled that he's going to try to win the midterms by undemocratic means. Obviously, the war in Iran provides him one kind of way of doing that, especially if his destruction of the U.S. Security apparatus results in a terrorist attack on our soil. So, you know, these are all methods to win the midterms by non-democratic means. The bribe is a bribe, you know, and say vote if you're, as if I'm on a ballot, as if in the ballot is addressing low propensity voters who show up to support just Trump, so it …
Robinson's Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Context. The Hill op-ed by congressional national security leaders argues that Trump has dismantled and politicized homeland security programs, leaving the nation vulnerable to another large-scale terrorist attack.[2]
Context. Trudy Rubin and Just Security describe gutted counterterrorism units and warn that the dismantling of post-9/11 counterterrorism architecture raises the likelihood of election-period violence.[3][4]
Context. CSIS assesses that terrorism aimed at elections is rare but that similar violence around the 2026 midterms is possible, without tying any such threat to a Trump-directed plan.[5]
Context. The White House said Trump was not calling for attacks on US cities but was explaining how he is preventing Iran from acquiring that capability, which undercuts the post's reading of the Iran war as a deliberate midterm tactic.[1]
Context. No source reports a terrorist attack on US soil in 2026 or any use of such an attack to win the midterms, so the claim's central conditional outcome is not documented either way.
Sources
5 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 tier 1, 3 not rated
- 1Trump did not call for attacks on US cities but explained ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 225 years later, President Trump has discarded the lessons ...thehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: context
- 3Trudy Rubin: Trump disses 25th anniversary memorial for 9/11 while opening the door to more terrorism at homebradenton.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 4What Leaders Can do Now and Next to Lower Risks of Election Violencejustsecurity.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 5The Terrorism Threat to the 2026 Midterm Electionscsis.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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