While media talking heads spoke endlessly about European leaders at the White House, other major developments got less attention.
President Donald Trump on Monday said he will sign an executive order to “bring honesty” to the 2026 midterm elections and vowed to “get rid” of mail-in voting and "controversial" voting machines.
In a post to Truth Social, Trump said: "The mail-in ballot hoax, using voting machines that are a complete and total disaster, must end, now!"
The president may be the lone U.S. elected official to speak out publicly and frequently on a topic that appears to be off limits for public discourse in the nation he leads.
Trump also noted that the U.S. is one of the few democratic republics that still extensively uses mail-in voting.
While many European countries have restricted or banned mail-in voting, most U.S. states have comparably lax rules, including not requiring signatures on mail-in ballots and allowing ballots to arrive and be counted after Election Day.
The countries that ban what they commonly call “postal voting” in Europe are France, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden, according to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
The Post Millennial noted: "While some states already had mail-in voting plans in place, such as Colorado and Washington State, which operate entirely on mail-in voting, many other states had no proper provisions in place to ensure fairness and election integrity for vast numbers of remotely cast ballots. As the election season heated up, many people reported receipt of ballots by dead people, or receiving multiple ballots for one voter."
Trump's post to Truth Social:
Former Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington posted to X:
“It’s time that the Republicans get tough and stop it. The Democrats want it. It’s the only way they can get elected.”
Boom! President Trump vows to end mail-in voting and the machines! Hand count, paper ballots is the only way!! pic.twitter.com/6MF8vZaM7F — Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) August 18, 2025
