Former President Donald Trump on Friday implored Republican lawmakers to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act) and eliminate the Senate filibuster, asserting that these actions would ensure the party does not lose an election for the next 100 years. Speaking at an event near Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Trump framed the push in the context of combating a "communist menace in our land."
"America will never be a communist country. We can only lose the midterms if we allow ourselves to lose the midterms, if we are foolish, stupid and unwise," Trump stated. He added, "But if we terminate the filibuster as we should do and immediately vote for the SAVE America Act, then we will not lose an election for 100 years."
The SAVE Act, as described by Trump, would mandate that voters provide in-person proof of citizenship to register to vote. He has been advocating for months for Republicans to abandon the filibuster, a move that has created divisions within the party. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has previously indicated that there is insufficient support for either eliminating the filibuster or implementing a talking filibuster.
Trump's remarks also included strong denunciations of communism and socialist ideologies. He characterized proponents of communism as individuals who are unwilling to work and suggested that the ideology itself is inherently flawed. This rhetoric comes amid a broader trend of fear-mongering on the right regarding democratic socialists, whom Trump has at times conflated with communists.