The greatest threat to Donald Trump’s authoritarian dream is not the courts — it is free and fair elections. While the courts can stand in the way of his twisted vision for America, they can never completely halt it. Trump knows this.

Trump operates on the assumption that there will be no political check on his power. His plan to subvert democracy depends on the subservience of a Republican-controlled Congress. His worst nightmare is a scenario in which Democrats flip one or both chambers in 2026.

It was only a matter of time before Trump turned his attention to attacking free and fair elections. Election denialism is the foundation of his movement. Election subversion is essential to maintaining his power. Voter suppression is a tool Republicans have wielded against those who do not support him.

For weeks — almost since the day he was sworn in — Trump has quietly mused about attacking elections. He referenced “election integrity” in a sweeping White House memo targeting lawyers who litigated against his administration.

At an event announcing a new Hyundai steel plant in Louisiana, Trump used the opportunity to air his grievances about lawyers and voting rules. He claimed that lawyers had behaved “very badly, very wrongly.” As a result, he declared, “our elections are very dishonest, very corrupt.”

That was merely a prelude to the executive order he and his team issued the next day. Titled Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections, it is a rambling document that asserts powers the president simply does not have.

You're reading what's included in our premium membership. Democracy Docket members always receive exclusive analysis like this from Marc every week. Become a member today for $10/month or $120/year and stay up to date on new developments that matter most to American democracy.

It would disenfranchise millions. It seeks to restrict what ballots states can count. It purports to give DOGE unspecified powers to review state run voter rolls. No wonder vote suppressors and election deniers from coast to coast lavished it with praise.

If, as Mario Cuomo once said, “You campaign in poetry, you govern in prose,” then Donald Trump issues executive orders as performance art. Like many of his others, this order is confused, rhetorical and — in places — nonsensical. It asserts facts that are not true and claims authority he does not possess. It is not meant to be taken seriously or literally. Rather, it is the empty threat of a weak man desperate to appear strong.

The Constitution is explicit about who has the power to determine how elections are conducted:

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.

States have the primary role in setting election rules. Congress can override those rules by enacting laws. The president is not mentioned — because he has no independent role.

In fact, Congress has already enacted laws governing many aspects of elections. Those laws are just that — laws. They cannot be altered or overridden by a piece of paper in a fancy folder, no matter how forcefully Trump signs it with a Sharpie.

Calling it an executive order may mean something to him, but legally, it is irrelevant. Neither the Constitution nor the law cares about his feelings.

Trump’s advisors undoubtedly know this and have likely explained it to him. But Trump doesn’t care. He believes that by signing an outrageous document filled with threats and bluster, he can intimidate state and local officials, lawyers, judges and voters. He is counting on us being too scared to fight back.

He is also counting on voters not caring enough to exercise their rights. By making the process seem complicated, contentious and dangerous, he hopes to bully the election system into submission.

We cannot let that happen.

I have already announced that my team will sue to block this executive order and any other attempts to undermine free and fair elections. Our track record proves that we litigate aggressively — and when we do, we typically win.

That is why Trump is attacking me. It is why he went to the Department of Justice to call me a “radical” trying to “turn America into a corrupt, communist, third-world country.” It is why he is attempting to destroy my former law firm, where I defeated his legal team more than 60 times in 2020. And it is why he singled me out in his recent White House memorandum.

I don’t care what Donald Trump says about me. I wear his scorn as a badge of honor.

But one lawyer — or even a thousand lawyers — won’t solve this problem alone. It will take the civic courage of thousands of leaders and millions of voters.

This executive order is bad — cartoonishly so. But it is also a wake-up call for those who believe the danger of election subversion has passed.

To the contrary, it has only just begun.

And so has our fight.