Trump Furious as Republicans Kill his Election Scheme

Summary

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Legal AF – "Trump Furious as Republicans Kill His Election Scheme"

Podcast: Legal AF by MeidasTouch
Date: March 12, 2026
Host: Michael Popok (MeidasTouch Network)

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the Republican-led Senate's refusal to advance the controversial SAVE Act—a Trump-backed bill intended to overhaul federal election administration and implement strict new voter identification and citizenship requirements. Host Michael Popok provides a legal and political breakdown of the SAVE Act’s implications, the leveraging of filibuster rules, and the resulting clash between MAGA activists, Donald Trump, and Republican Senate leadership.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The SAVE Act: What It Proposes

• Overview:
  The SAVE Act, passed by the House at MAGA insistence, would impose new federal voter ID and citizenship-verification mandates nationwide—overriding current state-level control of elections.

• Legal Concern:
  Popok highlights that federalizing these rules goes against constitutional tradition, as “our framers and our founding fathers wanted [elections] in the hands of the states.”
  [03:05]

• Practical Effects:
  Strict requirements would disproportionately disenfranchise millions, including women whose names changed after marriage, transgender voters, and minority populations lacking documentation.
  [03:05]

• Popok:

  "It would only result in having tens of millions of Americans who lose their right to vote because they don't have proof of citizenship handily on them or a ID with their proper name on it, including women who have gotten married... would all be denied the ability to vote under the SAVE Act."
  [02:30]

2. Trump’s Strategy and The Voting Fraud Myth

• Narrative Manufacturing:
  Trump and his supporters amplify non-existent voter fraud to justify draconian legislation.
• Empirical Reality:
  Popok notes:

  "...there's been empirical studies...70 court cases...FBI and local state investigative agencies...determined that the most fraud in any election is somewhere along the lines of 0.0001%."
  [04:45]

• Demographic Targeting:
  The host warns that the Act is not just about fraud, but is also a play to undermine voting rights for specific demographic groups.
• Transgender Focus:

  "Let's go after transgender people again... because Donald Trump thinks that's a winning strategy again to win at the midterms."
  [06:04]

3. The Filibuster: Tradition and Republican Hesitation

• Senate Roadblock:
  Senate Majority Leader John Thune is under pressure but resists MAGA calls to abolish the filibuster, which would open the floodgates to simple-majority passage of sweeping laws.
• Popok Explains:

  "The filibuster allows the minority in the Senate to block the vote that would normally pass on a simple majority if it could get to a vote."
  [08:25]

• Power Dynamics:
  Thune fears abolishing the filibuster would backfire should Democrats regain Senate control.

  "...if the House and the Senate and those two chambers flip to Democrats, then the Republicans in the minority will lose their ability to have any power at all to stop any future laws."
  [11:36]

4. Trump, MAGA, and the Right-Wing Response

• Trump’s Pressure Campaign:
  Trump publicly urges Thune to pass the bill and threatens political consequences if Republicans fail him.

  [12:05] Trump:

  "It's the most popular bill I've ever seen put before Congress, and it's voter ID... If you don't get it, big trouble. My opinion, if you get this, you have midterms and they know it for two reasons. Number one, they won't be able to cheat. And number two, the people are demanding it."

• Extremist Allies:
  MAGA figures (Elon Musk, Mark Meadows, Cleta Mitchell) demand the “nuclear option”—abolish the filibuster.

  Popok:

  "Now the rest of MAGA is apoplectic. You know, Elon Musk is calling for the nuclear option... Mark Meadows...wants the SAVE act. Cleta Mitchell...runs voter protection organizations that wanna constantly hit voting rights and undermine your ability and steal your vote from you by setting up unreasonable and unconstitutional barriers to your vote."
  [14:08]

• Thune’s Refusal:
  Thune won’t even allow a show vote, preferring to avoid exposing Senate divisions.

5. The Broader Strategy & Outcomes

• Voter Roll Purges:
  Trump aims to “purge” voter rolls—removing eligible voters en masse under the cover of reform.

• Court Actions:
  Related lawsuits are in progress, but public-interest coalitions are actively opposing these changes in court.

• Popok’s Takeaway:

  "The good news is that the SAVE act looks dead on arrival, even under John Thune in the Senate. So at least that portion of Donald Trump's attempt to take over the federal election looks like it's dead."
  [15:51]

• Further Warnings:
  Trump’s focus may shift to other strategies to undermine federal elections, with continued pressure on mail-in ballots and proposals like deploying the military at polling places.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Popok on the Founders and States’ Rights:

  "Elections even for federal office...our framers and our founding fathers wanted in the hands of the states. You see it in the Constitution, you see it at the 10th Amendment. And that's the way it's always been for good reason."
  [03:32]

• On the SAVE Act’s Real Purpose:

  "It's not good enough for Donald Trump because he wants to create this fake narrative that we have such massive voting fraud in America that it stole the election from him. Now we know that's not true..." [04:00]

• About MAGA Pressure:

  "They're about to burn Senate Majority Leader John Thune in effigy on the right because he refuses to bring to the Senate floor the SAVE Act, Donald Trump and maga's phony piece of legislation..."
  [02:30]

• Trump’s Strategic Speaking Point:

  "They don't talk about housing. They don't talk about anything. That's what they talk about. And if you send it up there, you're going to win the midterms at levels that you can't even believe."
  [12:44]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:30 — Popok introduces the SAVE Act and its potential consequences.
• 03:32 — Discussion on constitutional basis for state-run elections.
• 04:45 — Empirical evidence against mass voter fraud myths.
• 06:04 — Examination of how the SAVE Act targets vulnerable communities, especially transgender citizens.
• 08:25 — Breakdown of filibuster rules and their impact on the bill’s prospects.
• 11:36 — Analysis of John Thune’s motives for protecting the filibuster.
• 12:05–14:08 — Trump’s plea and threats to Senate leadership, outlining what’s in the bill and his linkage of voting laws to Republican election prospects.
• 15:51 — Popok’s conclusions: the SAVE Act is dead, but vigilance is needed.

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Conclusion

In this detailed episode, Popok unpacks the legal mechanics, political motivations, and constitutional stakes behind the Trump-driven SAVE Act and the Republican Senate’s rejection of it. Through direct quotes and sharp legal analysis, the show exposes the anti-democratic intent behind “reform” rhetoric, highlights the real-world human impact, and offers reassurance that the system—with its constitutional guardrails and civic engagement—remains actively defended.

For ongoing updates and further reading, check Legal AF’s Substack for court documents and deeper dives into all discussed issues.

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Transcript

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[Michael Popak]

They're about to burn Senate Majority Leader John Thune in effigy on the right because he refuses to bring to the Senate floor the SAVE Act, Donald Trump and maga's phony piece of legislation that will only result in having tens of millions of Americans who lose their right to vote because they don't have proof of citizenship handily on them or a ID with their proper name on it, including women who have gotten married, who don't have access to their birth certificate, their name doesn't match what's on their birth certificate, would all be denied the ability to vote under the SAVE Act. What the rightest of right wing MAGA want John Thune, the Senate Majority Leader to do is to bring it to a vote on the House floor and perhaps throw away hundreds of years of Senate tradition and get rid of what's called the filibuster. But John Thune's not going to do that and Donald Trump is sort of mad at him. But right wing MAGA like Elon Musk and Cleta Mitchell and Mark Meadows of all people back from his Jan6 insurrection participation and his voting more than once when he was the chief of staff for Donald Trump is back beaten down the door to John Thune. But the filibuster looks like it's going to hold a Michael Popak, you're the Midas Touch network and legal af. Let's sit at the intersection of law and politics and voting rights. So these SAVE act got passed by the House in it it has all sorts of new requirements that improperly puts the federal government effectively in charge with elections. Elections even for federal office our framers and our founding fathers wanted in the hands of the states. You see it in the Constitution, you see it at the 10th Amendment. And that's the way it's always been for good reason because they didn't trust the federal government when they formed the United States of America. They certainly did not want the Feds telling the states what do about federal elections for federal office. They didn't want the feds running their own elections, if you know what I mean. And so when I registered to vote, I signed as you probably did, under penalty of perjury, that I resided where I said I resided, that I was a US Citizen, I would vote in my precinct, check the box. And if I didn't and I violated any of those sworn statements, I could be prosecuted for crimes. That's that sort of good faith trust that has been pretty good for hundreds of years of voting in America, at least in the modern era. You know, we trust people. We trust people who sign sworn declarations that they're not committing crimes. And we and who understand that they could be prosecuted if they do. It's not good enough for Donald Trump because he wants to create this fake narrative that we have such massive voting fraud in America that it stole the election from him. Now we know that's not true because there's been empirical studies and evidence and 70 court cases and audits and the FBI and local state investigative agencies that have all looked at it and determined that the most fraud in any election is somewhere around along the lines of 0.0001%.0001%. It happens. Dead person votes, somebody votes, their mother in law's ballot, whatever. But it's not enough to change the outcome of an election. It's infinitesimal. You're talking about 8 to 10 fraudulent ballots in the entire, in an entire state election, if that, and they're prosecuted for it. So SAVE ACT says let's go after transgender people again. Here we go. So they're going to have to come up with some ID that you know who that matches their birth, not their current name or their legal name. He's got to go after the transgender community because Donald Trump thinks that's a winning strategy again to win at the midterms. Continuing to beat this, beat mercilessly this defenseless group of people in America. America. And, and, and it's also having the effect that 20 to 30% of Americans, especially black and brown and women, don't have the documents necessary to satisfy the SAVE act to vote. You know, okay, I have a passport, I have a birth certificate with my proper name on it. But my wife does it because her, her, her birth certificates from another country, it has a different last name on it. You know, now she's got her new documents, she's a citizen, she can vote. But there's that mismatch that the SAVE act would prevent her from voting. Now, once the House passed it, it gets over to the Senate. That's where John Thune, the Senate Majority Leader comes in. Now, he likes to be liked, whereas the prior Senate Majority leader, Mitchell, he didn't really care about being liked. In fact, he liked to be the enemy. He liked to be the dark senator. But not Thune. He likes, he's from South Dakota. He likes to talk about sports and be liked. The reality is he is not going to lead an uprising of Senate tradition to get rid of the filibuster. Now, what's the filibuster? The filibuster used to be an old timey times a person could get up in the minority against the bill being passed and speak and prevent the vote for hours or days on end. Right. Think of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or Cory Booker recently, hours and hours and hours and not relinquish the podium and try to block the vote. But now you don't have to do that any longer. You can do what's called a a just a verbal filibuster, meaning you just signal that you are going to filibuster if you are required to. So once you say I'm going to filibuster, in order to defeat the filibuster and get it to a House to a. Sorry, to the floor of the Senate for a vote, a simple majority vote, there has to be 60 senators out of the hundred who vote for something called cloture C L O T U R E, which kills the filibuster and allows for the vote. So it seems a little bit counterintuitive, but you need 60 votes in order to then put it to a vote which can pass by simple majority. 51. Okay, so that means the minority through filibuster can block the vote that would normally pass on a simple majority if it could get to a vote. Well, I was getting ready to talk about the news and politics today and my cat Chanel decided she was the headline. She doesn't care about politics, but she has extremely strong opinions about her food. If this show ever runs late, it's because she refuses to let me talk about law and politics until her Smalls cat food is handled first. It's 2026. Do you still feed your cat like it's 1926? This podcast is sponsored by Smalls. 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For a limited time because you are a legal AF listener, get 60% off your first order plus free shipping when you head to smalls.com legalaf one last time that's 60% off your first order, plus free shipping when you head to smalls.com legalaf and Thune is not going to throw away the filibuster because he's worried that if the House and the Senate and those two chambers flip to Democrats, then the Republicans in the minority will lose their ability to have any power at all to stop any future laws from being passed in the hands of the Democrats. Because that, I mean, that's a real possibility, right? Especially in the world of Donald Trump. Now, Donald Trump has been trying to get John Thune to pass the SAVE act, meaning to change the filibuster rules and allow for a simple majority vote on the SAFE Act. Here's Trump trying to twist the arm of John Thu. Play it.

[Fox News Announcer / Donald Trump (clip)]

But we're going to push them to get it done. Because I don't think you can politically exist if you're not going to do voter ID and these things. I don't think the people in this country will stand for it. So I'm making my biggest plea tonight. It'll make you. And I'm not doing it for this reason at all. It'll guarantee the midterms. It'll guarantee the midterms. If you don't get it, big trouble. My opinion, if you get this, you have midterms and they know it for two reasons. Number one, they won't be able to cheat. And number two, the people are demanding it. Every time I go out. Save America, sir. Save America Act. We want the Save America act, sir. That's all they talk about. They don't talk about housing. They don't talk about anything. That's what they talk about. And if you send it up there, you're going to win the midterms at levels that you can't even believe. And you're going to win every election for a long time until somebody really screws things up. And hopefully that won't happen. But I've never been more confident that if we keep these promises and deliver in this popular agenda, the American people will stand with us and overwhelming numbers, just as they did in 2024.

[Interviewer]

Is Senator Thune listening to you when you say you want to pass the Save America Act? He says there aren't the votes to do it right now.

[Michael Popak]

What's your response?

[Interviewer]

Well, he's got to be a leader. You know, he's a leader. He's got to get him. It's the most popular bill I've ever seen put before Congress, and it's voter ID and it's voter. You have to be able to be a citizen to vote. You can if called citizenship. And we're also adding in no men playing in women's sports, no transgender mutilization of our children and no mail in ballots, fake mail in ballots. We have none of that except in the case of the military incentive. It is the Save America Act. It's the most popular bill I think I've ever put before.

[Michael Popak]

Now the rest of MAGA is apoplectic. You know, Elon Musk is calling for the nuclear option of getting rid of the filibuster once and for all. And Mark Meadows, of all people, who was Donald Trump's chief of staff in the first administration, who was prosecuted himself for, for voting twice in the same election at two different precincts. He's apoplectic. He wants to save act. Cleta Mitchell, who used to be a reasonably well considered election lawyer in Milwaukee, she's gone cuckoo. She runs voter protection organizations that wanna constantly hit voting rights and undermine your ability and steal your vote from you by setting up unreasonable and unconstitutional barriers to your vote. So they're all, they want th to grow a pair. It's not going to happen. It's a political point. Thune doesn't even want to frankly have the showdown and have a show vote where it shows how many votes would have passed if it wasn't for the filibuster. He's not even want to, he doesn't want to do that, you know, to have it be see, it would have passed if we got rid of the filibuster. So the good news is that the SAVE act looks dead on arrival, even under John Thune in the Senate. So at least that portion of Donald Trump's attempt to take over the federal election looks like it's dead. He's trying other things, right? Maybe throw the military, have them around a polling place to scare voting. He's trying to screw around with mail in voting. Nonetheless, it's got some court cases that are making their way up the up the chain. But for now, the Democrats and public interest groups are doing a good job tamping down Donald Trump's obvious appetite to take over federal elections because he also wants to get, as we know, get his hands on voter rolls. He wants to purge the voter rolls, meaning take your name off the list. So when you go down to vote, they say, sorry, Mrs. Smith or Mr. Johnson, your name's been removed from the voter rolls by Donald Trump. That's what he's trying to do. And we'll continue to follow it. I'm glad you're here. I'm my touch and legal AF take a minute. Help us over on legal AF. Trying to get to that next level. 1.1 million subscribers. With your help we will. Till my next report, I'm Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of Legal af. Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do called Wait for it Morning af. What else? All the other contributors from Legal a for there as well. We got some new reporting, we got interviews, we got ad free versions of the podcast and hot takes. Wear Legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe

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