Trump prompts outcry by suggesting Republicans should ‘take over’ elections | First Thing

President claims idea to ‘nationalize’ elections in 15 states before midterms is to prevent noncitizen voting. Plus, how Muslim creatives are changing New York City’s cultural landscapeGood morning.Donald Trump suggested on a conservative podcast released on Monday that Republican state officials “take over” and “nationalize” elections in 15 states to protect the party from being voted out of office.What did the president say? That immigrants “were brought” to the US to vote. “They vote illegally … We should take over the voting in at least many – 15 places – the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” he said on the podcast of Dan Bongino, the short-lived FBI deputy director.What have Democrats said in response? “That statement alone makes clear that this threat to our election security, the basic premise of our democracy, is forward looking, to 2026, to 2028,” Senator Mark Warner of Virginia said yesterday. “This is about whether these same tactics we’re seeing now, or worse, will be used to disrupt free and fair elections.”What are Democrats demanding? They agreed to fund most of the federal government through September while providing DHS with two weeks of short-term funding. That will enable lawmakers to return for negotiations around long-term DHS funding after the killings by federal agents of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Among Democrats’ demands are: that federal agents wear body cameras and cease wearing masks, follow a code of conduct, and obtain arrest warrants for people in the country illegally.How did the White House press conference go? Trump again scolded a female reporter, this time CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, who was questioning him about the Epstein files. “I’ve known you for 10 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile on your face,” Trump said, adding CNN should be “ashamed of you”. Continue reading...