Ex-liberal Cable Stars Jim Acosta, Joy Reid Float 2026 Midterm Conspiracies About Trump

In little than a week, 2 erstwhile wide cablegram news stars who were fundamentally discarded by their erstwhile networks this twelvemonth floated conspiracy theories that President Donald Trump will rig adjacent year's midterms.

Ex-CNN anchor Jim Acosta and ex-MSNBC anchor Joy Reid, who were among nan media's sharpest critics of Trump's refrain astir not really losing nan 2020 election, openly speculated adjacent year's midterms won't beryllium connected nan level.

"I don’t deliberation Trump intends to time off office," Reid told far-left writer Wajahat Ali connected his Substack past week. "I’ve been very clear astir that. I deliberation he intends to enactment successful agency for illustration Putin till he dies."

"Whenever Democrats opportunity to me, 'this is nan logic we person to coalesce for 2026,’ I ever adhd to nan extremity of their sentence, ‘Yeah, assuming we really person free and adjacent elections,'" Reid also said successful nan segment. "I deliberation it’s insane, honestly, to conscionable presume we’re going to person normal elections adjacent year."

Joy Reid speaks onstage during nan 2025 ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood Awards astatine Fairmont Century Plaza connected February 27, 2025 successful Los Angeles, California. (Leon Bennett/Getty Images for ESSENCE)

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Reid, disparaging nan Republican "big, beautiful bill" arsenic a "bulls--t bill" successful statement pinch Democratic National Committee talking points, cited House Republicans who supported Trump's authorities successful spite of their reservations astir it. She claimed their behaviour suggested they weren't worried astir being re-elected adjacent year.

"The measurement Trump is behaving, he’s not acting for illustration personification who worries that his statement will suffer powerfulness aliases that moreover if someway we had normal elections and Democrats took power of either nan House aliases nan Senate, he’s not acting for illustration personification who’s worried astir nan consequences of that," she said.

Last Tuesday, Acosta wondered aloud to Democratic strategist James Carville if nan 2026 midterms could beryllium rigged by Trump aliases advisor Stephen Miller.

"In nan short word, yes," Carville said successful consequence to Acosta repeating a spectator of his Substack show asking whether they judge Trump will extremity up "tampering" pinch nan midterm votes. "In nan longer words, very."

Former CNN big Jim Acosta and President Trump. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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"I don’t put thing past him — thing — to effort to telephone nan predetermination off, to do thing he can," Carville added. "He tin deliberation of things for illustration that, that – that, you know, we can’t because we’re not accustomed to reasoning for illustration that. We ever presume there’s going to beryllium an election."

"This is scary s--t," Acosta chimed in astatine 1 point.

"President Trump has taken much action to reconstruct nan integrity of our elections connected behalf of nan American group than immoderate president successful modern history. According to nan Democrats, elector fraud doesn’t beryllium – but intelligibly they are already searching for copouts preparing to suffer large again successful nan midterms," a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital successful response.

The far-left Reid was abruptly fired by MSNBC successful February; successful November 2022, she said only Democrats judge predetermination results erstwhile they lose. Acosta discontinue CNN successful January aft he was asked to move from dayside programming to a midnight show. He erstwhile mocked Trump's 2020 predetermination claims arsenic "the large cry."

Last month, former CNN big Don Lemon didn't disregard comedian Kathy Griffin's proposal that nan 2024 predetermination was besides fixed.

"I’m Kathy Griffin and I do not deliberation Trump won successful a free and adjacent election," Griffin said. "I judge location was tampering. I don’t cognize if it was nan Elon [Musk] connection. I don’t cognize if it was conscionable a fewer bully aged boys successful nan South who didn’t do, you know, I mean what they impeach america of."

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"You’re not acold off," Lemon said. "I mean I won’t opportunity that I disagree pinch you… But I’m an grounds person. I’d for illustration to spot nan evidence. I deliberation thing was off, and particularly erstwhile personification said, ‘oh, we’ve sewage this.’ And, you know, really do you cognize that? How do we cognize we’ve sewage this? How do you know, aliases ‘I don’t request your vote’ aliases thing for illustration that. It’s a small spot odd."

In nan past 2 midterms, nan sitting president's statement mislaid power of nan House. In 2018, during Trump's first term, Democrats won backmost power of nan enclosure for nan first clip since nan GOP Tea Party romp successful 2010. In 2022, President Joe Biden's Democrats were wide seen arsenic overperforming but nevertheless mislaid power of nan House to nan GOP.