Donald Trump attempted to rig the 2026 midterm elections.

Posted by The Bulwark Daily, Sep 29, 2026Checked Nov 2, 2026

Polygraph verdictTrue

Sources: 6 support2 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 70%

The Bulwark DailySep 29, 2026

Vigilance is still in order, but Trump’s efforts to rig the midterms have so far flopped. And that includes Trump’s self-sabotaging of his own plan to blame China for hacking our voting machines. …

63 claimsThe check →

Tier1 and tier2 sources document concrete federal efforts in the 2026 midterms, including DOJ subpoenas to California election officials, criminal and civil probes tied to the Alaska Senate race, and attempts to block certification, which support the claim that Trump attempted to manipulate the midterms.

This claim is in the show notes, the publisher's own words. It counts against the post, once.

This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.

What we found

Supports. AP reports that Trump's Justice Department issued subpoenas in probes of a Democratic Senate candidate in Alaska and to California election officials, and that Trump told lawyers to sue to block a possible Peltola win.[1][7]

Supports. Reuters reports the administration stepped up criminal and civil investigations in Alaska and is trying to prevent some California ballots from being counted, which it calls an extraordinary federal intervention in state-run elections.[2]

Supports. The Atlantic describes efforts to undermine mail-in voting, demand state voter rolls, and threaten to prosecute election officials, though it notes many of these efforts have made little headway.[4]

Supports. The Washington Post reports the administration is signaling readiness to challenge results based on alleged fraud, and CNN describes an unprecedented federal effort to inject itself into state elections.[5][6]

Context. FactCheck.org finds no evidence that voting machines deliberately switch votes and notes Trump's claims of Democratic cheating are unproven, but this addresses rhetoric about fraud rather than whether Trump took actions to influence the midterms.[3]

Context. Several sources note the efforts have largely failed in courts and have made little headway, which is consistent with the post's point that the efforts 'flopped' and does not contradict that attempts were made.[4][8]