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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — U.S. Sen. Mark Warner warned Thursday morning that President Trump's primetime address tonight could represent "the most significant step yet" to interfere with this year's midterm elections, urging Virginians to treat the president's claims with skepticism until they are independently verified.
"Please take whatever he says tonight with a grain of salt and let's get it fact checked and verified," Warner said during a remote media availability from the U.S. Capitol. "This is critically important."
Warner, vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said the administration has no credible intelligence basis to challenge the integrity of the 2020 election or the voting systems used in it. He pointed to the unanimous conclusion of all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies — reached while Trump was still president — that while Russia, Iran and China attempted to influence the 2020 election through social media and disinformation, none succeeded in altering vote totals or compromising election infrastructure.
"There was no successful interference in the 2020 election," Warner said. "Chris Krebs, Trump's own head of the Cybersecurity Agency, said it was the safest election in American history. That truthful statement earned his almost immediate firing."
Warner said he fears Trump may use tonight's address to target Dominion Voting Systems — now operating as Liberty Voting — through executive order, potentially forcing states to abandon certified voting equipment ahead of November. He also raised concern that Trump's recent firing of two Election Assistance Commission members, combined with a third resignation that left the commission without any members, could throw election administration into chaos at a critical moment.
"You cannot suddenly get rid of all of the voting machines in Virginia that we're using right now as we go through the primary season," Warner said. "We start voting in Virginia in September."
Warner said he believes Trump's fixation on the 2020 election — particularly his loss in Georgia — is driven by fear that his policies will be "soundly rejected" by voters in November.
"I believe he's trying to set up his hardest core supporters to not trust the election when he gets his tail whooped come November," Warner said. "And that scares the dickens out of me."
Expanding White House perimeter
Warner also weighed in Thursday on reports that the Trump administration is seeking to significantly expand the security fence around the White House and Lafayette Square, following a Commission of Fine Arts hearing on the proposal earlier in the morning.
He dismissed security concerns as a pretext, pointing to Trump's history of hostility toward public protest.
"This is purely a president that doesn't want the American people to have their First Amendment right to protest," Warner said. "He doesn't want to see it."
Warner, an Alexandria resident, also took aim at broader efforts to reshape the nation's capital, citing proposals including a triumphal arch at the end of Memorial Bridge and changes to the reflecting pool.
The Iran war
Warner renewed his criticism of the ongoing U.S. military conflict with Iran, calling it "a war of choice" launched without a plan for how it ends. He said none of the administration's stated goals — regime change, securing enriched uranium, eliminating ballistic missiles or reopening the Strait of Hormuz — have been achieved, while the U.S. has spent close to $60 billion in military hardware and lost 13 American service members.
He warned that rising diesel prices — already back above $5 a gallon — will drive up costs for goods across the economy.
"Diesel fuels most of our trucks. Trucks deliver most of our goods to the grocery store," he said. "That's all going to be passed on to the consumer."
SNAP cuts hitting Southside Virginia
Responding to a question about Danville residents losing SNAP benefits, Warner said the cuts were a direct and predictable result of what he called the "big ugly bill" — the president's budget legislation that he and Sen. Tim Kaine opposed.
"This is completely what I predicted," Warner said. He added that the law will also cut Medicaid assistance for approximately 300,000 Virginians — timed, he said cynically, to take effect after the election.
"Southside Virginia supported Donald Trump in overwhelming numbers, but they are going to bear the disproportionate burden of these cuts," he said. "It's frightening and chilling."
Lindsey Graham
Warner opened the call with a brief remembrance of Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died this week.
"Lindsey and I disagreed on a lot of things, but he knew where he stood," Warner said. "He was passionate about advocating particularly for America's role in the world, and he will be greatly missed."
