“Five alarm fire!” Trump caught with BOMBSHELL confession

If you send a guard or ICE to voting locations in November, would you do that?Well, you know what?I'd do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections.We have to have honest elections.

This is Democracy Watch, Mark.That was a clip of Donald Trump being asked if he was going to send National Guard or ICE agents to the polls in November.This is a theme that we've been touching on quite a bit lately.And yet again, he refused to rule it out, saying that he would do anything to ensure that we have honest elections.And so when he says, quote, that we will have honest elections, what does he mean by that?

He means he'll be rigged in favor of Republicans.And when he says he'll do anything, he means he will do anything.You know, this is an alarm that I sounded in 2020 before the election, and people told me to pipe down, that I was being alarmist, that I was raising people's concern for nothing.And after I and my legal team beat Donald Trump more than 60 times in court in the post -election, I said, he's not going to concede.And people were like, he just needs more time.You know, just give him space.

It's hard to run a presidential campaign and accept defeat.And the next thing we saw was what happened on January 6 with the violent insurrection that he instigated in the nation's capital, where his supporters used violence, attacked police officers, in order to try to prevent the certification of elections and the peaceful transfer of power.So when Donald Trump says, when asked about ICE, that he will do anything OK, anything like think about that.What is any what is do anything mean to a man who has already abused the process?What is who's already incited an insurrection?Yeah.

What does do anything mean to a man who's already incited an insurrection?And what does do anything to a man who then pardoned the insurrectionists, pardoned them?And it's now reportedly is what I read in the newspaper, perhaps working out a sweetheart deal with the IRS to pay them.Yeah.For for for this.So we all need to take this seriously.

very, very seriously.This is a five alarm fire.This is an alarm.alarm in the middle of the night that is warning us that the arsonists are on the loose.They are pouring gasoline on the foundations and they are lighting matches.And those of us who live in the houses, we need to understand that we need to protect ourselves and our families.

And for those of us who have the ability to be firefighters, we need to grab a hose and put out that fire.And that's what I try to do every day as a lawyer.It's what I try to do in having founded Democracy Docket.And it is what Brian and I do with every one of these videos that we do.We have chosen this series, this Democracy Watch series, intentionally to keep you informed.about the fires being lit by Donald Trump and the Republicans, about the fact that he will do anything to try to undermine, undermine free and fair elections.

And I was not silenced in 2020, despite the fact that people said I was being an alarmist.I was not silenced in 2024 and 2023 when everybody said, oh, we've got norms.We've got we're about, you know, Merrick Garland has restored everything to normal and we don't need Mark Elias out there, you know, saying that that that that Donald Trump is going to come back and attack free and fair elections.And, Brian, you and I did some of the earliest content, some of the earliest videos after Donald Trump won in 2024, warning people that the large institutions were not going to protect us and that we all needed to be aware and prepared for what we were going to see in 2025.And I'm saying now the same about the election of 2026.

Right.And by the way, I would just add in terms of the large institutions not protecting us, you know, that's in large part why you decided to start Democracy Docket.It's what I use on a daily basis to get all of my news coverage, especially as it relates to attacks on democracy and voting rights.And so I would just ask everybody who's watching right now who's not yet subscribed to Democracy Docket, I'm going to put a link right here and in the post description of this video.Please make sure to sign up, support the work that Mark is doing, elevate his voice in this ecosystem.because if there's one person who we need to have a bigger megaphone right now It's him mark to that end, you know from from the perspective of an attorney who has been litigating more cases I think than anybody else in this space My concern is that when Trump says he'll do anything to make sure that we have quote -unquote honest elections Which of course is just his way of saying elections where Republicans win and Democrats lose My concern is that, okay, we know what's coming, but we have to wait until... after he engages in this nefarious behavior before we can litigate against him for it.

But by then it's too late.Like if he sends National Guard to the polls on election day and it has the intended impact on election day, well then we can litigate after the fact and that's all well and good, but it will have already done its job on election day.And so is there anything that could be done hearing him make these warnings now where litigation could ensue beforehand so that we're not just waiting for him to undermine elections before we can actually do something about it.

Yeah, look, that's always our goal, right?Right now, my law firm and I, we are litigating 85 cases, actually now more than 85.It's 87, I think, cases in 43 states.So we are already litigating to try to prevent bad things from happening and try to create some good things to happen, right?So we both defend against bad things and we try to help improve voting in places where we can through the courts.And so that is a critical part of the fight, is anticipating what the challenges will be and taking action.

But part of that, Brian, is having people accept the reality of where we are.And I want to again go back part of what has been frustrating to me has been in the past how time at times Democrats don't want to.accept that things are as dire as they are.They want to assume that the institutions are strong.They want to assume that the guardrails will hold.And you and I have been doing this long enough to know that the guardrails are not holding.

The institutions are not that strong.And some of them are in complete collapse because they've capitulated.So yes, we can litigate in advance, and we do.And you know, believe me, there is no one who's gonna be more aggressive in that fight than I am.But we need everybody watching this video.We need all of you to share it with your friends and your families and your co -workers and your social media feeds.

Because if people don't know that this is happening, it is too easy to take a step back and say, you know what, it'll probably all be okay.So go ahead and share this video, subscribe to this channel, also subscribe to democracy .get.But the fight for democracy is big.in part being done in court, but it is also in part being done in the court of public opinion.And we all play a role in that.

I want to take this opportunity as you're talking about the ways in which the federal government is kind of trying to insert itself in states across the country and you're litigating against the federal government in a raft of the most of these states across the country.There is some new news on 17 states that the RNC is targeting.Can you speak on that?

Yeah, and I'm really glad you raised this, Brian, because, you know, this is now a multi front war.Like, you know, in the in the past, yeah, I would be up against the RNC and the RNC would try to suppress the vote.We would fight them in court and we'd usually win.And, you know, then we got the right wing outside groups, you know, the dark money organizations.And then they were in court and we'd fight them and we'd probably win.And now we have the Department of Justice, right?

So like the Department of Justice is now litigating and we're litigating 30 cases against the Department of Justice right now.So when you then add into that equation,Donald Trump saying, I will do anything.And then I think it was like 24 hours later or shortly after, the RNC saying, yep, he said we'll do anything.And in addition to, let's see, the National Guard, ICE, the Department of Justice, U .S.

Attorney's offices seizing ballots in Fulton County, the Republican sheriff in Riverside County in California seizing ballots, the FBI apparently showing up at an election official's house in Milwaukee.On top of that, We can't forget we still have the RNC.The RNC is now deploying in 17 states.So this has now become a very dynamic battlefield for free and fair elections, where it's not just coming from one place or another.It's Donald Trump both controlling the formal power of government, the formal political party and structure on his part.And then kind of like this network of organizations and individuals and election deniers and vote suppressors that operate sort of that move in and out of all those spheres.

And so it's a big problem.It's a big thing to tackle.And so, like I said, I'm tackling it in court and will continue to do that.I'm trying to tackle it in the court of public opinion by by speaking out.And, you know, this this series on your channel is a big part of it.that.

But we need everyone to lift themselves up into this fight.So there's no one watching this who can't do something.I've said several times, they can subscribe to this channel to start.They can share this video with a friend.That's a really easy thing, just like there's a share button.click the share button, post it on social media, or email it to your friends.

There are lots of things that everyone can be doing to raise the alarm.And the mistake we're making is that we think, OK, well, the RNC is doing this, and I'm not the DNC, so there's nothing I can do.The Department of Justice is doing this, and I'm not a lawyer, so there's nothing I can do.Mark says the legacy media is not doing their job, but I'm not.a journalist, so there's nothing I can do.And that's the wrong attitude.

You all are voters.You all are a public who can raise awareness and help people make a plan and help people know that rules have changed and help them know what the RNC is up to.And I can do my part and Brian can do his part, but we can only succeed in this if you do your part by sharing this content.

And I would also ask here, Mark, you know, a lot of people are going to watch this and they're going to see kind of the systemic structural disadvantages that Democrats are contending with, whether it's the fact that Democrats are often way more deferential to the institutions and the norms than Republicans are.They're going to point to the fact that Donald Trump has been able to usurp so much control in the federal government and the Democrats are so slow and hesitant to be able to fight back.But my question here for you is, do we have the resources necessary to be able to fight back?Because I think a lot of people are going to see this stuff and say, like, this is all so much.How do you contend with this?How do you contend with an inherently anti -democratic, small d democratic party in the GOP and and think that we're going to be able to come out on top here?

And so, you know, you're on the front lines of this stuff.What do you say to those folks who I think may be succumbing to some of the hopelessness that I think Republicans are trying to purposefully engineer?in people.

Yeah, look, there's no there's no question that we are in the fight of our generation.The fight fight for democracy is the fight of our time.We wish it would be something else, but it is the fight for democracy.And there is no guarantees that it's all going to work out OK.Like, I'm not here to sell, you know, unfettered hope.You know, I have never believed that the arc of the moral universe definitely bends towards justice.

That's a place where I disagree with Dr. King.And I don't even think necessarily if we push on it, it'll necessarily bend in the direction of justice, as many people say.I do believe, though, if we don't push on it, it definitely won't go, it definitely won't bend in the right direction.So we all need to do the things we can do.And we cannot give up hope in those things.You know, the citizens of Hungary didn't give up hope when the system was rigged against them.

The freedom riders in this country, the people who marched across the, you know, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they didn't give up hope, even though the odds were stacked against them.In 2020, when Donald Trump was sitting in the White House and we were fending off his lawsuits before many times very hostile courts, there was no guarantee we were going to win.There was no guarantee he was going to leave.There was no guarantee that January 6th was not going to succeed.But we had to do the things we could do to prevent that from happening.And we wound up beating him in court.

And ultimately, democracy held.The guardrail survived.And he lost.And Joe Biden became president.But now he's back.And there's no guarantee it'll be better this time, that it will work out this time.

But it won't if we don't try.So that is the reason why I keep calling upon the audience and the people watching this and listening to this to do their part, because hopelessness is the tool of the oppressed or not the oppressed.Giving up is what Donald Trump wants you to do.He does not want you to believe there is a chance we will win these court cases.He wants you to think the courts are rigged against us.He does not want you to think that your protests will matter.

He wants you to think they'll fall on deaf ears.He does not want you to believe that if you share content from Brian and from other creators, that it will make a difference, that it's just one person sharing one YouTube video.But they're wrong.Together, we can build this movement, this pro -democracy movement, and we can win.It doesn't mean we will, but we can, and we have to try.

to elevate Mark's voice in this ecosystem more than anything.So I'm going to put the link for Democracy Docket right here on the screen and also in the post description of this video.If you're not yet signed up, support Mark's work, support his litigation, support his fight mentality and make sure to sign up.I'm Brian Teller -Cohen.I'm Mark Elias.This is Democracy Watch.