Trump and his personal law firm (the Department of Justice) are busily spreading disinformation about the 2026 midterms. To be clear, the disinformation is false and easily disproven. But Trump doesn’t care if his lies are transparently false. He knows that those lies will gain traction on social media and right-wing propaganda outlets like Fox, which will in turn infect the reporting of credulous journalists who rely on AI slop to generate content for the internet’s maw, content that will eventually make its way to mainstream media. The lie is the point. It takes on a life of its own and can never be completely and irretrievably eradicated from an information ecosphere designed to ensure that “information” is never forgotten.
The lie is the point. It discourages and confuses members of the resistance who are battling to save democracy every day. Trump recognizes that the biggest threat to his dream of autocracy comes from members of the resistance who stand on roadsides and bridges, write postcards to voters, knock on doors, and rally others to register and vote. Trump fears them more than anyone or anything else, so he is engaging in psychological warfare to make them believe that resistance is futile.
Resistance is not futile. It is the path forward.
We cannot--we must not--become unwitting soldiers in Trump’s campaign of psychological warfare by recklessly spreading his lies or giving them credence they do not deserve. Most importantly, we must always remember that any prediction of Trump’s interference in the 2026 midterms is incomplete and misleading unless it concludes by saying, “And this is what we will do to defeat those efforts. . . .” We are not helpless victims. We are the people who give life to the government by our consent, and we can withdraw that consent at any time we choose.
The good news is that we can inoculate ourselves against Trump’s psychological warfare by educating and informing ourselves. Let’s start there.
A month ago, the Department of Homeland Security announced that there were 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote in four states (Nevada, California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey). At the time, Trump said he was releasing the results of a “stunning investigation” by DHS that proved widespread noncitizen registration.
It was all a lie, and everyone knew it. But the DHS accusation received widespread reporting, including headlines in mainstream media.
DHS accused Nevada of having 15,903 noncitizens registered to vote. For a month, Nevada has pressured DHS and DOJ to provide the names of the noncitizens allegedly registered to vote in that state. T
To the surprise of no one, DHS and the DOJ lawyers have failed to provide a single name of a noncitizen registered to vote. See NYTimes, Homeland Security Made a Big Claim About Noncitizen Voting. Now It Can’t Prove It | The Department of Homeland Security told Nevada election officials that it identified 185 “potential” noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls, not the nearly 16,000 it claimed last month.
Per the Times,
The administration claimed to have identified 278,000 noncitizens registered to vote in four states, including an exact number of 15,903 in Nevada. But during a meeting last week with state election administrators, Homeland Security officials said they had identified just 185 potential noncitizens in the state so far, according to emails as well as recordings of the meeting obtained by The New York Times.
To be clear, the 185 “potential” noncitizen voters in Nevada haven’t been confirmed to be noncitizens—which may explain why DHS has refused to provide their names. Moreover, DHS now claims that the 16,000 alleged noncitizen voters in Nevada was a “ceiling.” (See NYTimes article above.)
Of course, when Trump triumphantly released the “stunning” DHS report, he claimed that it identified specific noncitizens registered to vote in four states—not that those numbers represented a “ceiling.” And in the DHS press release announcing its investigation, the agency said it had found that “over 250,000 non-citizens are illegally registered to vote.” Subsequent DHS releases referred to “potential” noncitizens as registered. But 185 vs. 15,903 is a big miss, and even the 185 potential noncitizens have still not been identified.
Lesson: Believe nothing the administration says about voter fraud.
A variant of deliberate disinformation is repeating ambiguous and unsourced “lore” about Trump’s alleged plans to intervene in the 2026 election. An example in today’s NYTimes comes from its Editorial Board, Opinion | Trump’s Election Interference Is Eroding American Democracy. To its credit, the Editorial Board ranked ten metrics on Trump’s slide into authoritarianism. Kudos to the NYTimes for that effort.
But in writing about Trump’s alleged plans to intervene in the 2026 midterms, the Editorial Board wrote the following:
Mr. Trump’s actions have left constitutional scholars and democracy experts anxious about this year’s midterm elections. . . . Experts are also worried that after the elections, Mr. Trump may pressure legislators not to certify the winners, as he unsuccessfully tried to do after the 2020 presidential election.
The Editorial Board is wrong. State legislators do not certify the winners in congressional elections. Instead, in all 50 states, the winners in congressional elections are certified by state officers or commissions, including the secretary of state, the governor, canvassing boards, or (in two states) judicial officers. See Election Assistance Commission, Guide to Election Certification, Appendix 2. (Note: In New Jersey, results are certified by a State Board of Canvassers, chaired by the governor, which includes four state legislators.)
Does it matter that the Editorial Board said Trump would pressure state legislators not to certify the winner when state legislators have no role in certifying winners in congressional elections? Yes. If someone is going to predict that Trump will attempt to overturn the 2026 election, they should be precise as to the mechanism—so that the premises of their prediction can be evaluated and challenged, especially as to the legal deficiencies that are embedded in the prediction.
There is no correcting the Editorial Board’s mistake. I believe with 100% certainty that a reader will forward me the Times’s editorial and tell me that the Editorial Board predicts Trump will pressure state legislators to overturn the 2026 election. Again, state legislators have no role in the process of certifying the winners. Read Appendix 2 of the EAC report, cited above, if you don’t believe me.
To a similar effect is the David French op-ed in the NYTimes two weeks ago, in which he incorrectly claimed that Speaker Mike Johnson and the current Republican House (the 119th) would refuse to seat newly elected Democrats in the next House (the 120th). I explained that French was wrong because the Constitution gives the current House no role in seating the members of the next House. See US Constitution, Article 1 Section 5 Clause 1. (“Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members . . . .”)
Since then, French’s article has been put on “spin-cycle” by the internet, showing up again and again. Most recently, the eminent retired jurist, Judge Michael J. Luttig, repeated French’s mistake in his Substack essay “The Final Battle for America’s Democracy.’
Judge Luttig recited the central error of French’s essay, i.e., saying that “Mike Johnson and his House Republicans would claim fraud in the upcoming elections and refuse to seat Democrat Members-elect who are elected to Congress by the American People.”
Dozens of readers sent me Luttig’s article, many in a panic. One reader posted that Luttig’s “view” disagreed with my “view” and that I had wrongly “pooh-poohed” French’s article.
As I responded to the reader, we must not fall into the trap of false equivalence. In support of my position, I cited the controlling provision of the United States Constitution. French and Luttig cited nothing except their vague, unsubstantiated assertion that seemed to bestow on Mike Johnson authority not granted to him by the Constitution. If French and Luttig want to explain why the Constitution does not apply in the transition from the 119th to the 120th Congress, they should do so—so that we can evaluate the merits of their argument.
Here’s my point: There is a LOT of disinformation in the ether, much of it intentional, much of it recycled internet lore. Our first reaction cannot be panic.
We must wake each day knowing that Trump fears us and will try to demotivate and confuse us. Don’t let him. And don’t help him by repeating his lies or spreading unsubstantiated predictions of doom. And—this is really important—reject any such prediction that discusses only what Trump will do and fails to mention that we, the people, have a say in our future.
Coda: I know from long experience that some readers will respond, “You are naïve; you don’t understand Trump; he doesn’t care about legal arguments.” If that is your reaction, you are missing the point. Of course Trump will attempt to interfere in the 2026 midterms. He is already attempting to do so. My point is that we must not spread disinformation or misinformation that only serves to demotivate, confuse, and frighten the very people who are at the forefront of the resistance. If Trump plans to interfere in the 2026 midterms, let’s describe those threats accurately and precisely so we can have productive discussion about how we will defeat his plans.
In response to public reports of deteriorating morale and living conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, the aircraft carrier has begun returning to San Diego. The Lincoln will be replaced by the USS George Washington, which was pulled from the Pacific Fleet to relieve the Lincoln.
Americans were against the war from the start, but the aimless drift of the war against Iran has tried the resources of the Navy and the patience of the American people. Trump has no way out, and the precedent of Vietnam hangs heavy over Trump’s ill-conceived war against Iran.
Paul Waldman addresses the parallel between Vietnam and Iran in Public Notice (Substack), How Trump misunderstood what Americans think about war.
Waldman writes
Instead, the [Tet] offensive demonstrated that all the government’s assurances that the war would be over soon were lies. North Vietnam was not on the verge of being broken, and we were not seeing “the light at the end of the tunnel” as military leaders had said so often. [¶]
In an echo of all those “light at the end of the tunnel” briefings in Vietnam, Trump and his aides tell us that everything is going great, and a few more threats of destruction is all it will take to convince the Iranian regime to capitulate — as if they haven’t been trying and failing with that very approach for months.
As with Vietnam, Trump is lying about the prospects for victory and the timeline for peace. And just as the USS Abraham Lincoln became a symbol of the public’s disillusionment with the Iran war, the USS Constellation was a symbol of opposition to the Vietnam War.
Reader John Sharaf helped produce a 1972 documentary about the USS Constellation, titled Connie Stay Home. The film documents an anti-war protest in San Diego in which thousands petitioned for the USS Constellation to stay home rather than return to support the bombing of North Vietnam. The film is about 30 minutes long. When the Constellation departed San Diego, nine sailors refused to return with their ship and were court-martialed.
Trump’s war against Iran will continue to drag the Republican Party to defeat in 2026 and 2028. There is no way out, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will continue to damage the economy, the costs of the war will drain the military’s budget and munitions stockpiles, and public opposition will increase. For those who remember the Vietnam War (and those who don’t) the documentary is a fitting reminder of what Trump has in store for him as he struggles to find a way out of his own Vietnam
A night of karaoke with Secretary Clinton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Paul Rudd in New York City
As longtime readers know, this newsletter has been a strong supporter of Latino Victory and the important work they are doing to organize and engage Latino voters.
Last year, Jill and I joined Latino Victory and Onward Together in New York for History Has Its Eyes On Us, an extraordinary evening with Secretary Hillary Clinton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Heather Cox Richardson. It was an impactful and memorable night, and I’m excited to share that Jill and I have already bought our tickets for this year’s event — which promises to be a little more musical.
On Monday, October 19, Secretary Clinton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Paul Rudd, and a growing lineup of Broadway stars, actors, singers, and special guests will come together in New York City for Raise Your Voice for Democracy: A Night of Celebrity Karaoke. Proceeds will support Latino Victory Project and Onward Together as they mobilize voters during the critical final stretch of the 2026 midterms. You can purchase tickets to join us in New York here.
This is a fundraiser, and tickets start at $500. If you don’t live in NY, travel, hotel, and a ticket make for a very expensive night out. But for readers who can’t make the trip to New York or for whom purchasing tickets isn’t possible, Latino Victory and Onward Together are offering a chance for one winner and a guest to attend the event in New York, with round-trip airfare, two nights of hotel accommodations, and two tickets included. Enter the sweepstakes raffle here for your chance to join us — with tickets, travel, and hotel covered.
Please join Swing Left Inland Valley’s in-person fundraiser, “You Are the Winning Path to 2026: A Conversation with Robert Hubbell & the Heroes of Democracy.” Sunday, August 30th, 4-6 pm PST, at the dA Center for the Arts, 252 S. Main St.- D, in Pomona, CA. Following a casual meet-and-greet, complete with wine, snacks, and raffle, Robert will introduce a viewing of the documentary “Lightworkers.” After the film, there will be time for a Q &A, so be sure to bring your questions
Swing Left’s mission is to make it easy for people to maximize their impact on the most competitive elections to win Democratic majorities at the state and federal level. Join us in-person or online for canvassing, writing postcards, registering voters, and much more. Swing Left Inland Valley.
Register for the event here ($50 per person or $80 for two people). If you can’t attend, you can donate directly here! 100% of proceeds will go to the Swing Left “Balance of Power Fund” that supports Democratic candidates in high-stakes, competitive races across the country.
Over the last few days, readers have sent copies of David Frum’s latest piece in The Atlantic, “The ‘Resistance’ Is Over.” I groaned when I read the title. Many readers asked me to read and respond to the piece. Tonight, I finally got around to reading Frum’s explanation for why “the ‘Resistance’ is over.”
My major takeaway from the article is that Frum has no idea what the “resistance” is. The article is all “inside baseball” about Democratic Party politics. If Frum believes that the “resistance” is the left-wing of the Democratic Party, he needs to get out more. His primary source for the proposition that the “resistance is over” is a snarky comment by Nate Silver on Twitter, posted after this week’s primaries—an n of one.
(For flavor, here is Frum’s conclusion: “The remains of the suddenly unfashionable Democratic resistance can only hope that Democrats in Texas, North Carolina, Michigan, and elsewhere will rise above the factional politics and remember in November what, and who, remains the most pressing danger to the nation’s law and democracy.”)
If Frum wants to tell us the resistance is over, he should go to the bother of talking to a few members of the resistance. And here’s some free advice: he won’t find them on Twitter. Instead, he should attend a protest, join a standout, help with a banner drop from a bridge, or join a postcarding group. Talk to those people and ask them if the resistance is over. Ask them if they are giving up. Ask them if the wins or losses by “centrists” or DSA members or progressive candidates in primary elections have dampened their burning desire to restore democracy by defeating MAGA.
If Frum does that, then I will listen to what he has to say about the resistance. But until then, he—like most of the media—has no clue about the largest political movement in America today: the tens of millions of grassroots activists fighting to save democracy every day.
As I wrote in the introduction, Trump understands who the resistance is: Trump recognizes that the biggest threat to his dream of autocracy comes from members of the resistance who stand on roadsides and bridges, write postcards to voters, knock on doors, and rally others to register and vote. Trump fears them more than anyone or anything else, so he is engaging in psychological warfare to make them believe that resistance is futile.
Resistance is not futile. It is the path forward.
Talk to you tomorrow!
Send photos to rbhubbell@gmail.com. Please include a caption with the date, location, organization, and a brief description.
Huge response to 48th Street resistance brigade’s participation in the anti-FLOCK campaign. Many honks from our trucker fans. Seems people universally hate mass surveillance without our consent and devoid of guardrails as to the uses.
=================================
Today’s Indivisible weekly Thursday standout in Hull MA
=================================
Lewis Clark Valley Indivisible held a pop-up rally on Aug 20 in front of the Idaho congressional field offices to show our outrage for the poor treatment of sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln and other naval ships and to demand that the use of ICE GLOVES be stopped before it starts.
LCV Indivisible is made up of cross border community members from Lewiston ID and Clarkston WA. We had mostly honks and waves in this very red area.
=================================
Hopewell, NJ, August 20, 2026
=================================
We covered a lot of ground with our messages today!
BE BRAVE SPEAK OUT / NO FLOCK—WAR—ICE
West LA Freeway Brigade 8/20/26
===
AlbaNY Visibility Brigade
==============================
Hartford Visibility Brigade calling out military support, or lack of, this morning!
=================================
Stand Up Speak Out protest #80, we’re re there every Weds at 10:30 am in Hingham MA—there were 75 of us yesterday
=================================
Curtis Park Resist in Sacramento
=================================
On Wednesday, 08/19/2026, the Resister Sisters reminded travelers on the Beltway in Burlington, VT that the Epstein Files are not going away until they are fully released, no matter how great the distraction!
=================================
16 August 42nd & Fremont
=================================
Visibility brigade, in Missoula, Montana!
=================================
Newport, RI Bridge Brigade 8/19
=================================
Baltimore Bridge Brigade on the W 41st St Bridge over I-83, Baltimore, MD
Also, thanks for posting our Flock message on Tuesday and adding my explanatory blurb!
=================================
Frederick MD protesters
=================================
Pasadena, CA 8/20/26
Maybe Trump would care about sailors if someone he “loves” were on the ship?
=================================
Last night August 19th, 20 activists gathered to do 2,000 postcards for Sherrod Brown in OH and Blake Genderbien in NY21st District. Location is in our loft in North Adams MA, and this mailing brings our group’s total this year to 13,000+ !
=================================
=================================
A young activist joins the weekly Jamaica Plain, MA weekly Visibility Brigade.
=================================
ReSisters is not the first to use this message, but we are glad to amplify it because it feels so true. This is from yesterday, over I-95 in Norwalk, CT.

=================================
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.