US President Donald Trump has urged Republicans to 'nationalise' elections and repeated his false claims of 2020 election fraud in a new podcast interview.
American elections are primarily run by state law, and voting has long been administered by local officials across the country.
'The Republicans should say: 'We want to take over. We should take over the voting in at least 15 places.' The Republicans ought to nationalise the voting,' Trump said during an appearance on the podcast of his former deputy FBI director, Dan Bongino.
His remarks come days after the FBI raided an elections office in Georgia to examine voting records from the 2020 election.
In the interview, Trump did not name the '15 places' where he thought Republicans should 'nationalise' voting.
The president tied his desire to federalise voting mechanisms to his key agenda item of deporting undocumented immigrants from the US. 'If Republicans don't get them out, you will never win another election as a Republican,' he said.
While speaking to Bongino, Trump also referenced the FBI's raid in Georgia's Fulton County, saying that 'you're going to see some interesting things come out'.
Trump narrowly lost the state to Joe Biden in 2020. He has repeatedly claimed his loss was due to fraud - an unsubstantiated assertion.
Trump faced two criminal indictments related to alleged election interference in Georgia; a federal case that ended after he returned to the White House last year, and a Georgia state racketeering case that fell apart. He denied any wrongdoing.
In the new podcast interview, Trump stated he won the 2020 election 'in a landslide' and alleged, without evidence, that people 'vote illegally'.
The FBI said last week it was conducting a 'court-authorised law enforcement activity' at the Fulton County Election Hub. Fulton County officials indicated that the government's warrant 'sought a number of records related to 2020 elections'.
Some local officials expressed anger at the raid, calling it 'an assault on your vote' according to Fulton County Commissioner Mo Ivory.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has confirmed that she was present for the raid, stating Trump personally requested her to be on-site.
Gabbard indicated in a letter sent to a group of senators that her presence was to coordinate and analyze intelligence related to election security.
It was also revealed that there was a call between FBI agents on the ground and Trump after the raid, which raised concerns about communication between a sitting president and law enforcement handling an ongoing investigation.
Gabbard confirmed she 'facilitated a brief phone call for the president to thank the agents personally for their work. He did not ask any questions, nor did he or I issue any directives.'
