Defending Democracy with Marc Elias

The 2026 midterms are the greatest threat to Trump's power -- and he knows it. Marc Elias exposes Trump's three-pronged plot to protect his majority: False claims of foreign government election interference, a DOJ push to obtain your voter data, and a leaked executive order that would let Trump dictate voting rules to every state. This is the most dangerous threat to your vote in modern Am...

Marc Elias breaks down the bombshell Washington Post report detailing how anti-voting activists are crafting an emergency executive order allowing Donald Trump to take unprecedented control over elections — all on the basis of a conspiracy theory that China interfered in the 2020 election He explores the specifics of the leaked "National Emergency" Executive Order, how this move would al...

During the State of the Union, Donald Trump pitched his "Save America Act" as a simple bill to secure elections. He lied. In this video, Marc Elias breaks down the text of the bill to reveal a much darker reality: a plan that doesn't just suppress votes, but fundamentally redefines voting from a right into a "privilege" controlled by the powerful. The "Save America Act...

Donald Trump isn't hiding his corruption anymore—he's broadcasting it. But why is the media failing to see the threat right in front of them? In this video, Marc Elias breaks down how Donald Trump has fundamentally changed the rules of American politics by "saying the quiet part out loud." While traditional media outlets are still hunting for secret scandals and cover-ups (the &q...

Congressman Dan Goldman joins Marc Elias to break down the coordinated and escalating assault on democratic institutions, driven by partisan misuse of the Department of Justice, federal interference in elections, and sweeping voter suppression efforts ahead of the 2026 midterms. Drawing on his experience as a former federal prosecutor, Goldman explains new legislative efforts to impose guardrails...

Rep. Greg Landsman joins Marc Elias to break down the House-passed SAVE Act, warning it would disenfranchise millions of Americans — especially married women, college students, seniors, and low-income voters — through strict proof-of-citizenship and voter ID requirements. They also dive into partisan gerrymandering in states like Ohio and Texas, the battle for control of Congress in 2026, healthca...

Republicans know they’re on track to lose the 2026 midterms—and they’re trying to rig the election to stop it. In this video, Marc Elias breaks down the Save America Act, the most sweeping voter suppression bill in a generation, and explains how it would make it harder to register, harder to vote, and easier for Trump and Republicans to throw out ballots. Support independent journalism: https://ne...

Donald Trump is escalating his efforts to undermine the 2026 midterm elections, openly embracing voter intimidation, ballot seizures, and federal interference as his political standing collapses. In this video, Marc Elias lays out concrete, actionable steps Democrats can take at the state and federal level to block election subversion, from banning mass voter challenges to stripping immunity from...

Donald Trump’s attempt to rig the House through mid-cycle redistricting is backfiring, with Democrats fighting back in court and potentially gaining seats instead of losing them. Today, Marc Elias breaks down where redistricting battles stand in Texas, California, Utah, New York, North Carolina, and Missouri—and why Trump is now escalating to voter suppression, ballot seizures, and threats to take...

Former FBI Agent and Yale Professor Asha Rangappa joins Marc Elias to examine how Trump-era policies reshaped federal law enforcement, national security, and democratic norms, from ICE and the FBI to the Insurrection Act and military authority. They explain how contempt for legal constraints makes America less safe, why individuals now bear the burden of resistance, and what this moment means for...

Sen. Jeff Merkley joins Marc Elias to warn that American democracy is being hollowed out from within, as Trump deploys authoritarian tactics to suppress dissent, weaponize the DOJ, and rig future elections. From troops in the streets to attacks on vote-by-mail, this conversation breaks down the most immediate threats—and what citizens must do to stop them. Support independent journalism: https://n...

One year into Donald Trump’s second term, Marc Elias exposes the collapse of democratic guardrails as big law firms, legacy media, corporate elites, and government institutions capitulate, collaborate, or stay silent while voting rights, elections, and the rule of law come under sustained attack. He explains how voter data lawsuits, political prosecutions, media capture, and institutional failure...

Harvard Law professor and election law expert Nicholas Stephanopoulos joins Marc Elias to break down the existential threat facing American democracy as aggressive gerrymandering and Supreme Court challenges put the Voting Rights Act on the brink. They explain how we got here, what the Court’s next moves could mean for upcoming elections, and why this moment is a tipping point for free and fair el...

Arizona Sec. of State Adrian Fontes joins Marc Elias to discuss how election denial took root after 2020, how conspiracy theories like Sharpiegate spread, and why Arizona elections remain a top target for anti-democratic forces. They break down how elections actually work, why accurate results take time, and how denialists are now trying to weaponize certification, voter data, and election adminis...

Marc Elias exposes how the Trump administration and Vice President J.D. Vance are exploiting a tragic ICE killing in Minnesota to spread lies, smear a victim, and justify an alarming crackdown on independent media and free speech. He breaks down why targeting journalists and lawful speech is a direct threat to the First Amendment—and a key step in normalizing authoritarian power. Support independe...

Journalist and political commentator Molly Jong-Fast joins Marc Elias to discuss Trump’s declining political power, the myth of a governing mandate, and the growing backlash heading into the 2026 midterm elections. They examine corporate and billionaire collaboration with Trumpism, the retreat of Big Law, escalating voter suppression and election subversion, DOJ efforts to access voter files, and...

Supreme Court expert and Amicus podcast host Dahlia Lithwick joins Marc Elias to unpack one of the most dangerous and least understood forces shaping American law today: the Supreme Court’s shadow docket. Lithwick explains how the Court increasingly uses late-night, unsigned emergency orders to upend lower-court rulings, reverse longstanding precedent, and reshape democracy—without transparency, r...

Voting rights attorney Marc Elias warns that the Trump Department of Justice is aggressively seeking access to Americans’ most sensitive voter data—including Social Security numbers, party affiliation, voting history, and signatures—by suing more than 20 states. Elias explains why this unprecedented data grab is central to a broader strategy of voter suppression, election subversion, and litigatio...

Former Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary McCord joins Marc Elias to deliver a sobering, inside-the-Justice-Department assessment of how political pressure is corroding DOJ norms, judicial trust, and prosecutorial ethics. Drawing on decades as a federal prosecutor and current work at Georgetown Law, McCord explains the collapse of the presumption of regularity, the rise of misrepresentations t...

David Pakman joins Marc Elias to break down the most dangerous and overlooked trends of Donald Trump’s second term, from public desensitization and media failure to economic backlash, immigration cruelty, and rising threats to democratic norms. Pakman explains why economic pain—not attacks on democracy—is driving voter shifts, how Latino voters moved right in 2024 and may already be swinging back,...

Senator Cory Booker sits down with Marc Elias to discuss the real and growing threats to American democracy. Booker explains why economic insecurity, extreme inequality, and normalized corruption are not just policy failures but existential dangers to democratic stability. He warns that rising costs, collapsing trust in institutions, authoritarian abuses of power, and the politics of cruelty are d...

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker joins Marc Elias for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about governing through constant crisis and confronting the growing threat to American democracy. Pritzker reflects on balancing Illinois’ budget, leading through COVID, responding to the migrant crisis, and pushing back against what he describes as Donald Trump’s authoritarian tactics—from ICE and CBP raids in...

A surprising legal principle from conservative Supreme Court gun cases could help restore the right to vote as a first-class constitutional right. Drawing on his experience arguing his fifth case before the SCOTUS, Marc Elias shows how voting has been wrongly treated as a second-class right—subject to balancing tests and state convenience—while other rights receive strict protection, and argues th...

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse joins Marc Elias for a sweeping conversation on the state of American democracy—from the tragedy at Brown University to the urgent fight against Supreme Court capture, dark money, and fossil fuel influence. Whitehouse breaks down how billionaire interests engineered a “captured court,” why voting rights and environmental regulation are under attack, and what real Supreme Co...

Harvard Law Professor Nicholas Bowie joins Marc Elias to unpack how the Supreme Court’s conservative majority is dismantling decades of voting rights, campaign finance law, and congressional authority. From the Voting Rights Act to campaign finance reform, from Reconstruction to modern-day “history and tradition” tests, this conversation explores why SCOTUS is no longer exercising judicial restrai...