Secretaries of State Prepare For A Midterms Showdown
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What does the Constitution say about who runs elections?
The Constitution is very clear that states run elections, not the federal government. And the Constitution, the framers drafted that language because they didn't want it to prevent what's actually happening right now, where you have a president that has some deranged obsession with the 2020 election, the 22 election, and the 24 election, which again, like you said, he wanted 24.
It's Wednesday, September 23rd. I'm Jane Coastin, and this is Whataday. First Lady Melania Trump had a busy morning in New York today. She rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to launch Imperia, her new invitation-only initiative for women CEOs. Because when I think of the Trump administration, I think Women's empowerment. She also sat down on the Fox and Friends couch to share some Personal insight into her husband's second term in the White House.
How is the president doing in Trump two as compared to Trump one? How do you how do you see him handling the job differently?
Um he's very focused, he has a lot on his plate. It's very different uh what's going on around the world now. And um but I think he's doing the best that he can. He works nonstop, he has the most energy than anybody. He's uh from morning till evening non-stop working.
Trump two point oh this is the best he can do. What is Trump up to today? He's back in Washington meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the start of a three-day visit that will feature a state dinner, a military flyover, and lots and lots of pandering to the man Trump has described as a quote, great leader. Hey. Speaking of something provoked by a terrible leader, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Venezuelan man in the back in Austin, Texas on Sunday, was issued a body camera, but wasn't using it. The man who was again shot in the back and also was driving for DoorDash is now being held in an ICE facility. And when we talk about terrible leadership, we have to talk about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, Kennedy's enhanced security needs meant that HHS transferred twelve million dollars from the Office of Minority Health to help pay for it. Because of course it did. But I want to talk about elections. Specifically, I want to talk about how the Trump administration is trying to mess with the midterms and what states are trying to do about it. Joining me is Nevada Secretary of State Sisko Aguilar. He's running for re-election this fall. Secretary Aguilar, welcome to Water Day.
Thank you for having me. It's an honor to be here.
Okay, so the Trump administration has been after your state's voting records and they've threatened you with an investigation for failing to comply with voting laws. And if you're not watching this, I'm using error quotes because this seems nonsensical to me. But what what was your response?
When I first read the email, I thought this is pretty funny. It's actually interesting the fact that they would send me this letter after all this time. And the fact that the letter said I was under official investigation since 2025.
How is the Trump administration trying to interfere with Nevada’s voting records?
And this was the first knowledge of it. We had some instances Uh news reports telling us that the US attorney in Nevada was investigating our office over some issues and And then that got debunked later on by the press. So this has been going back and forth for quite some time, all the way back to the twenty four election, I would say, when they sued us almost every other day on some issue or some topic.
Yeah, I mean this is all about the twenty twenty four election, which as a side note, it's super weird that Donald Trump is fixated on an election that he won. Like all of this is about that. Um so it and it's about allegations of non-citizen voting in Nevada. Uh the federal government alleged that some fifteen thousand non citizens could be on the election rolls, but when you met with federal officials, what was the actual number of non-citizens they could find?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What does the Constitution say about who runs elections?
0:00–3:29
2
How is the Trump administration trying to interfere with Nevada’s voting records?
3:29–6:05
3
What was Nevada’s response to the federal investigation threat?
6:05–9:32
4
How many non‑citizens were actually found on Nevada’s voter rolls?
9:32–12:15
5
What impact did the Supreme Court’s mail‑in ballot ruling have on Nevada voters?
12:15–15:47
6
How prevalent is mail voting by ballot in Nevada’s recent elections?
15:47–18:48
7
What are Nevada voters most worried about ahead of the midterms (e.g., tax‑on‑tips, election security)?
18:48–21:51
8
What legal and communication strategies are secretaries of state using to protect the 2024 election?
21:51–22:45