HELLO!
This is certainly raising a few eyebrows as President Trump stunned the White House Press Pool today after suddenly suggesting he was planning to change the ballots for Midterms to get the TRUMP name on there.
Watch here for yourself:
TRANSCRIPT:
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election and, you know, it’s interesting. When I’m not running, we don’t do as well. Yeah. And I’m gonna try and get that changed for the midterms. But we did have a big win in Tennessee, as you know. Mm-hmm. Uh, Matt Van Epps, Van Epps, uh, had a big win in Tennessee against a very strong candidate, attractive candidate, who a lot of people thought would do very well.
And Matt won by a lot, and, uh, I won Tennessee by a real lot.
You know? We had a great, we had a great election. We won every single swing state. We won the popular vote. We won everything.
And, uh, there’s a, there’s a thing that they have now, districts, which is a big deal. Uh, I think in a way it’s the most important stat from the standpoint of, you know, looking at numbers accurately.
So, out of thousands of districts, I won 2,750 versus 525.
Think of that. 2,750 versus 525, it was great. That’s why the map, when you see a map of the election, it’s all red other than two little narrow lines on the other side.
ADVERTISEMENTPlease. Sir, Jimmy Lai was.
🚨 WOW! President Trump just confirmed the Democrats' worst nightmare: In the 2026 midterms, he will put the name "TRUMP" on the ballot to surge low propensity voters
"When I'm not running, we don't do as well. But I'm gonna try to get that CHANGED for the midterms!" 🔥
Trump… pic.twitter.com/ccYXtoDL6u
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 15, 2025
Ok so now the big question….
What exactly is he talking about and how might that work?
Here’s the best analysis I have seen:
The “TRUMP” Name on 2026 Midterm Ballots: Clarified and Formatted
Here is the text you provided, formatted for clarity and easy reading. No words have been changed, summarized, or altered, and all links have been removed.
President Trump cannot literally place his own name (“TRUMP”) as a candidate on 2026 midterm ballots nationwide.
Those elections are for:
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Congress (all House seats and about one-third of Senate seats)
Governors in some states
Other offices
He is not eligible or intending to run for any of these offices (he’s term-limited for president and not seeking lower office).
How he would “get that changed”
This is not about altering ballot laws to add his name directly.
U.S. ballot content is controlled by state laws, which generally list:
Candidate names
Party affiliations (e.g., Republican, Democrat)
Sometimes incidental designations (rarely endorsements like “Trump-endorsed,” as states prohibit misleading or promotional labels beyond standard party lines to avoid confusion).
Changing that nationwide would require coordinated state legislation—impossible federally for most aspects, and highly impractical/unlikely. No credible reports indicate efforts to add “TRUMP” as a ballot label or party designation.
What the Figure of Speech Means
Instead, Trump (and aides like Chief of Staff Susie Wiles) are using figurative language: They plan to make the 2026 midterms feel like a referendum on Trump by:
Campaigning intensely himself (rallies, endorsements, ads) as if he were running.
ADVERTISEMENTBranding Republican candidates heavily with his endorsement and “MAGA” agenda.
Pushing a unified midterm legislative agenda tied to his presidency.
This aims to energize “low-propensity” voters (infrequent turnout Republicans who show up more when Trump is personally on the ballot, as in presidential years).
What that would mean in practice
For Turnout: The goal is to boost Republican voter enthusiasm to defy historical midterm losses for the president’s party (e.g., GOP lost House in 2018 despite Trump’s presidency). Trump believes his personal involvement drives unique turnout among his base.
For Strategy: This involves heavy Trump branding, early endorsements to avoid primaries, massive fundraising/deployment, and near-weekly rallies in 2026.
Risks and Realism
Risks: If Trump’s approval dips (polls show mixed economic views), it could drag down candidates. Some Republicans worry over-reliance on him alienates moderates.
Realism: It’s essentially marketing hype to motivate the base now. Trump isn’t literally on ballots, but the campaign will portray down-ballot races as votes “for/against Trump.”
To visualize this a little better, I expect it would work something like this:
BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani’s Name Appears TWICE On New York Ballot — Here’s Why
Images of the New York ballot are going viral this morning because Zohran Mamdani's name appears on the ballot TWICE!
And while that's true, there's more to the story, which I will explain.
First, let's start here:
Mamdani listed twice on the ballot and so is Curtis… 🤦🏻♂️
Polymarket gives 92% chance Mamdani wins. https://t.co/onWdSP2RgC pic.twitter.com/ABm7kn4vUt
— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) November 4, 2025
Even Elon Musk is outraged by it and posting about it:
The New York City ballot form is a scam!
- No ID is required
- Other mayoral candidates appear twice
- Cuomo’s name is last in bottom right pic.twitter.com/676VODWFRI— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2025
Let's take a closer look at the ballot:
Ok so now allow me to Fact-Check this for everyone and explain it.
First of all, the ballot images ARE real and authentic.
This is actually how the New York ballot looks, extremely strange as that may be!
If I were voting in New York, I'd have no idea what I was supposed to select here because not only is Zohran Mamdani listed twice but so is Curtis Silwa if you look closely.
Second of all, I have to say that I have no idea what a "Zohran Mamdani" is....I always thought this is the Zohran Mamdani?
Isn't that the machine from BIG that would turn Tom Hanks older or younger?
That's the only Zoltar I know about.
But anyway, I digress....back to the ballot.
Something else you might notice on the ballot is there are a bunch of very strange labels next to the candidates.
You have your standard Republican and Democrat but then you get labels like Working Family, Protect Animals, Safe & Affordable, Integrity, Fight and Deliver, and Quality of Life.
New York is a weird place man!
Here's what's actually going on and why it's actually authentic to New York:
Those unfamiliar labels — Working Families, Protect Animals, Safe & Affordable, Integrity, Fight and Deliver, Quality of Life, The Unity, etc. — are political party lines that exist under New York’s fusion voting system.
Here’s how it works:
🗳️ Fusion Voting (New York’s Unique System)
New York is one of the few U.S. states that allows a practice called fusion voting.
Under fusion voting:
Multiple political parties can nominate (or “endorse”) the same candidate.
ADVERTISEMENTThat candidate’s name can appear on several party lines on the ballot.
Voters can choose which line to vote under, and all votes for that person (across all parties) are added together for their total.
Example:
Eric Adams could appear under Democratic, Safe & Affordable, and Endorsements party lines — but a vote for him on any of those lines still counts toward his total for mayor.
🏷️ Minor Parties & Issue-Based Lines
Those other names you saw are minor or third parties, often built around single issues or ideologies:
Working Families Party (WFP) → progressive, left-leaning, allied with Democrats.
Protect Animals Party → animal rights and environmental advocacy.
Safe & Affordable Party → likely a local ballot line created by a candidate’s campaign emphasizing affordability and safety.
Integrity / Quality of Life / Fight and Deliver / The Unity → usually temporary local lines created by candidates to appeal to specific themes or values (a legal and common practice in NY).
🧾 Why It Looks Unusual
These extra lines aren’t “fake” or “spoiler” lines — they’re fully legitimate, registered political parties or authorized ballot lines.
They exist because New York allows a candidate to form or borrow a party name just for an election cycle if they gather enough petition signatures. This lets them market to niche groups or signal certain values without forming a permanent large party.
Now the final question you might have like I did....what happens if you vote for one of these candidates in the box associated with one of the minor parties? Is that vote lost?
They claim not:
Under fusion voting, when the same candidate appears on more than one party line, every vote for that candidate—no matter which line it’s on—counts toward that person’s total.
So, for example, if Eric Adams receives
30,000 votes on the Democratic line, and
5,000 votes on the Safe & Affordable line,
his final certified total is 35,000 votes.
Those minor-party votes aren’t wasted; they simply show which bloc of voters preferred to back him through a smaller party. Campaigns sometimes use these extra lines to measure or signal coalition support.
The whole thing makes me very uneasy and just feels wrong.
How about you?
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