Podcast Summary: The David Frum Show – "How Trump Could Break the 2026 Elections"

Host: David Frum (The Atlantic)
Guest: Stephen Richer (former Maricopa County Recorder)
Date: February 11, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode explores how Donald Trump’s current actions and rhetoric may pose serious threats to the integrity of the 2026 midterm elections. David Frum is joined by Stephen Richer, former Maricopa County Recorder and a steadfast defender of election integrity, to dissect recent developments, including efforts to erode trust in election systems, the weaponization of federal power, and the historical parallels and institutional safeguards that may or may not hold firm. The discussion is a deep dive into both technical election administration and the broader autocratic temptations facing America.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Threat: Weaponizing Power & Destroying Trust

• Anne Applebaum sets the stage: Trump’s team is seeking powers that could alter institutions and the electoral ‘playing field,’ aimed at preventing opponents from winning. The ultimate goal of autocrats, she argues, is to destroy public trust ([00:00], [09:07], [59:12]).

  "Ultimately, destroying trust is the currency of autocrats." – Anne Applebaum ([00:36])

• David Frum’s opening: Condemns a recent racist video posted by the President, using it to highlight the importance of genuine impartiality and justice in any reforms to racial policy or election law ([01:13]–[09:07]).

  “…even the parts of the Trump administration's agenda that some people might like…are disqualified and discredited by the Trump administration's own actions and by the president's own personality. It's so tragic. It's so unnecessary, it's so ugly, it's so stupid, it's so shameful.” – David Frum ([08:08])

2. Election Denialism: A Firsthand View

• Stephen Richer’s experience: Upon taking office during the 2020 election controversy, Richer was immediately swamped with conspiracy theories and subpoenas related to the “Cyber Ninjas” audit. He describes the persistence of denialism even after exhaustive evidence proved the elections’ integrity.

  “It was surreal… so many people were asking things about the 2020 election. Meanwhile, we have January 6th… I had been subpoenaed from the Arizona Senate… and that began the whole endeavor known as the Cyber Ninjas Forensic audit.” ([12:12])

• Conspiracy fatigue: Despite patient, evidence-based replies, Richer found that election deniers just wanted affirmation, not facts.

  "...maybe a year into the process I realized that was not going to be the case." ([13:58]) “It was a series of contradictory allegations...never the same explanation.” – Frum ([15:25]) “A lot of these people aren't looking for facts. A lot of these people are just looking for affirmation of their beliefs.” – Richer ([16:25])

• Burden of proof flipped: Instead of accusers proving their claims, officials like Richer are constantly forced to disprove a rotating array of wild allegations ([15:52]).

3. Present Danger: What’s Happening in 2026

• Georgia as a test case: The Trump administration, the DOJ, and intelligence agencies are actively intervening in Georgia’s election process, raising alarms about potential federal disruptions designed to affect the 2026 midterms ([16:52]).

  “This is unprecedented territory… the first time where the entire machinery of law enforcement of the federal government has mobilized and has gone into a county.” – Richer ([17:41])

• Maduro and the Venezuela conspiracy: Frum explores whether recent US actions in Venezuela are being used to bolster discredited election fraud stories involving Smartmatic, Dominion, and Hugo Chávez ([18:55]).

  “People do believe this… the numbers say otherwise… 98% of Americans vote on paper ballots, and those paper ballots can't be hacked, and they are hand-count audited after the election.” – Richer ([20:02]) “The one way that you can get in [Trump’s] good grace, no matter what misdeed you have committed... is that you can tell him that he certainly has never lost an election and that the 2020 election was stolen from him." – Richer ([21:53])

4. Mechanisms for Interference: What Could Go Wrong in 2026?

• Federal intervention scenarios: Frum and Richer explore how Trump’s team might try to disrupt key swing races, not by altering votes but by sowing chaos—such as seizing equipment or halting counts in close districts ([25:39], [27:38]).

  “Present law enforcement on such a significant level that election administrators would just have to throw up their hands and say we can't operate in this environment…” – Richer ([27:38]) “In California… maybe the narrative writes better there.” – Richer ([28:52])

• Will local Republican officials resist or enable?

  “Do not underestimate the importance of politics for a politician. …At best, they stayed quiet. At worst, they went full throated along with it…” – Richer ([29:35]) “I was just consistently disappointed at how few people…were willing to stand up and say, no, two plus two still equals four, even if the president doesn't want it to be.” – Richer ([30:13])

• The firewall: the courts

  “...in terms of election denialism… there was not a single state or federal court that indulged those fanciful lies…” – Richer ([30:45])

5. Institutional Degradation: The FBI, DOJ & Intelligence Agencies

• Politicization concerns:

  “The FBI is an institution that is being broken before our eyes...good officers are being driven out, bad officers are being hired. The FBI is being turned into an arm of very, very partisan justice…” – Frum ([33:04]) “As part of the application process, applicants have to answer questions about which parts of the Trump agenda they like most... this is just so anathema…that I do think it will have a corrosive effect.” – Richer ([33:25])

6. Legislation as a Weapon: The SAVE Act & Others

• Overview: Several bills (SAVE Act, Save America Act, Make Elections Great Again Act) are designed to increase restrictions and, critics suggest, to suppress or complicate the voter rolls ([34:38]).
• The SAVE Act: Would require proof of citizenship (not just attestation) to register. Richer critiques both the necessity (no evidence of widespread noncitizen voting) and the unintended consequences (could exclude legitimate voters who lack passports or ready documents) ([34:41], [36:19]).

  “It's not true by the number of people who have been prosecuted for this… numbers aren't there.” – Richer ([36:19]) “This is not voter ID… SAVE act is about when you first register to vote, whether or not you have proof of citizenship…” – Richer ([37:56])

• Federal overreach: Many such measures represent a federalization of election administration, which is fundamentally at odds with historic decentralization ([38:11]).

7. How American Elections Actually Work

• Paper-based, bipartisan, and compartmentalized:

  “98% of Americans have a paper ballot of some form...” – Richer ([42:17]) “...at the end of the night, you're going to take all of the ballots…give [the memory device] to a bipartisan team...take both those ballots and that memory device to a central count facility…” – Richer ([43:48])

• Audit and transparency: Hand-count audits of randomly selected batches are standard, making widespread fraud or hacking nearly impossible.
• Thousands needed for a conspiracy:

  “In Maricopa county…we had over 3,000 temporary workers helping with that process… To have a conspiracy, you would have thousands and thousands of people in on it. And my experience with most political secrets is as soon as more than three or four people know about it, it's probably getting out.” – Richer ([48:27], [49:45])

8. Civic Participation as the Antidote

• Public involvement changes minds:

  “If you are still questioning how these things work, either go and get a tour of your elections facility or better yet, figure out how you can be an observer for your political party… people…develop a sense of pride in the results…” – Richer ([47:13])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On autocracy:

  "Ultimately, destroying trust is the currency of autocrats." – Anne Applebaum ([00:36], [09:31])

• On the futility and tragedy of current politics:

  “It just makes you wince and say, why does it have to be like this? Why can't it be better?” – David Frum ([08:25])

• On Republican complicity:

  “At best, they stayed quiet. At worst, they went full throated along with it…” – Richer ([29:57])

• On civic virtue and involvement:

  “You can convert cheap cynicism on Twitter into actual civic participation. And maybe...you might be a better person at the end of the process.” – Frum ([47:37])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening statement & framing: [00:00]
• Frum condemns racist video / Reflections on racial politics: [01:13]–[09:07]
• Anne Applebaum: “Destroying trust is the currency of autocrats.” [09:07]
• Stephen Richer’s 2020-2024 experience in Maricopa County: [10:20]–[16:52]
• Technical discussion: How elections can be disrupted/manipulated (“tabletop exercise”): [24:47]–[29:13]
• The role of courts & legal resistance to denialism: [30:41]
• Weaponized legislation (SAVE Act, etc.): [34:38]–[40:58]
• Actual election procedures, audits, why fraud is nearly impossible: [41:33]–[49:45]
• Closing thoughts on civic engagement: [47:13]
• Conclusion / Book Segment (Gibbon’s Decline and Fall): [51:00]–[59:00]

Tone & Language

Frum and Richer keep a thoughtful and explanatory tone, exasperated by the persistence of conspiracy and disinformation but striving to inform and empower listeners. Both stress the importance of civic responsibility, factual grounding, and the institutional resiliency of American democracy, while sounding clear alarms about real dangers from autocratic tendencies and institutional erosion.

Final Takeaways

• The greatest contemporary threat to American elections may not be direct electronic fraud, but relentless attempts to destroy legitimacy and disrupt processes in pivotal places.
• Trump’s personal motivations, inability to accept defeat, and willingness to deploy federal power threaten foundational democratic norms.
• Resilience lies both in decentralized, paper-based, bipartisan election infrastructure and in courts, but vigilance is needed as partisan pressure erodes other institutions.
• Voters and ordinary citizens have the opportunity—and perhaps the duty—to get involved and reinforce democracy from the ground up.

Recommended Action:
If you want confidence in the process, volunteer as an election worker or observer—and bring others along. Direct involvement builds trust and reinforces democratic resilience.

Listen to the episode for deeper discussion on each topic and more insights from David Frum and Stephen Richer.