Washington DC - President Donald Trump refused to rule out declaring a national security emergency to influence the 2026 midterm elections if Congress fails to pass the SAVE America Act.

"If they never get the SAVE America Act done, you have the right to declare a national security emergency for elections," said Wayne Allyn Root of Real America's Voice during a conversation with Trump on Tuesday.

"If you declare a national security emergency as the president of the United States, they can't challenge it," he said. "It can only be overturned by a two-thirds vote by both houses of Congress."

"So, if you do this in the next month, we will get photo ID, proof of citizenship, and a limit to mail-in ballots."

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While not outright calling for a cancellation of the midterm elections, Root's statement effectively suggests Trump should call a national emergency to help influence the result.

What was most stunning, however, was Trump's response: "Let me just say that stranger things have happened, okay?"

Trump has for months sought to exert greater control over US elections via his restrictive Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE America Act).

The SAVE America Act would require valid ID and proof of citizenship for all voter registration. It also effectively bans mail-in ballots, except for in very specific circumstances.

Congress has repeatedly failed to pass the SAVE America Act, largely because of pockets of resistance from inside the GOP and the Senate's legislative filibuster.

Last month, Trump used an address to the nation to revive sweeping and unsupported claims about the 2020 election and accuse China of electoral interference.

Ty Cobb, a member of Trump's legal team during his first term, pointed to the speech as an attempt to "predicate that he needs to declare an emergency at or about the time of the elections."