Former federal judge J. Michael Luttig has issued a stark warning, asserting that former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies intend to "wage the final battle" against American democracy. Luttig, a conservative appointed by George H.W. Bush, detailed his concerns in an editorial published in The New Republic, suggesting that these efforts could culminate in an attempt to steal midterm elections.
"Today, almost six years later, Donald Trump and his Republican congressional allies are even more determined to prosecute the president’s war against American democracy to its catastrophic end than they were on January 6, 2021," Luttig wrote. He posited that this "catastrophic end could well come on January 3, 2027, when Trump and his Republican congressional allies wage the final battle in Trump’s determined war to corrupt America’s democracy and deliver a lasting political victory over the Democrats."
Luttig stated that Trump has no intention of accepting another electoral defeat. "Trump and his Republican allies have been preparing for this final battle since January 6, 2021," he wrote. "For the past six years, they have embarrassed themselves and the U.S. with their preposterous, win-at-any-cost denial that Trump lost the 2020 presidential election."
He further warned that Trump's actions have consistently aimed at securing Republican control. "Trump’s every unconstitutional act in his effort to seize control over the midterm elections — each hailed by his prostrate Republican Congress — has been toward the end of ensuring that Republicans retain a majority in the 120th Congress," Luttig wrote.
Despite facing low approval ratings and unpopular policies, Trump has reportedly made the midterms a referendum on his perceived successes. However, Luttig noted that many conservative pundits predict a negative outcome for the Republican Party in the upcoming elections.
Luttig lamented the perceived shift in the Republican Party during the Trump era, contrasting the current situation with a past where the party ostensibly championed the Constitution, principle, truth, and integrity. He suggested that the party now appears primarily beholden to Trump and his demands for loyalty.
Luttig highlighted Trump's public calls for Republicans to "nationalize" and "take over the voting." He urged Americans to "disenthrall" themselves from their "political bondage" to Trump, echoing a sentiment from former President Abraham Lincoln, who advised the nation in 1863 to detach itself from destructive political dogmas.
"‘We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country,’" Luttig quoted.
He concluded with a direct appeal to the Republican Party: "The Republican Party in particular must finally loose the chains of its political and moral enslavement to Donald Trump and separate itself from the MAGA political party cult. The writing is already on the wall, Republicans."