Steve Bannon calls on Trump to deploy ICE to polling sites ahead of midterms

Washington DC - Donald Trump's former advisor Steve Bannon has called on the president to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents to polling sites across the country.

In recent episodes of his podcast, Steve Bannon (r.) urged President Donald Trump to deploy ICE and other federal agents to polling sites ahead of the midterms.
In recent episodes of his podcast, Steve Bannon (r.) urged President Donald Trump to deploy ICE and other federal agents to polling sites ahead of the midterms.  © Collage: MANDEL NGAN / AFP & Shannon Finney / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

On Tuesday's episode of his War Room podcast, Bannon went on a tangent in which he pushed the long-debunked claim that undocumented immigrants are voting as part of a conspiracy by Democrats to sway elections away from Republicans.

"We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November. We're not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again," Bannon said.

"And you can whine and cry and throw your toys out of the pram all you want, but we will never again allow an election to be stolen."

Jeanine Pirro sparks outrage by vowing to jail all gun owners: "I don't care if you have a license!"
Politicians Jeanine Pirro sparks outrage by vowing to jail all gun owners: "I don't care if you have a license!"

The following day, Bannon doubled down on his comments, and voiced support for Trump's recent calls for Republicans to "take over" elections and threats to invoke the Insurrection Act – a law that would allow him to deploy the military to suppress an insurrection or public disturbance.

"President Trump has to nationalize the election... You've got to call up the 82nd and 101st Airborne [Divisions] on the Insurrection Act," Bannon said.

"You've got to get around every poll and make sure only people with IDs... people that are United States citizens, vote in this election."

Can Donald Trump and MAGA actually "take over" elections?

Trump and his MAGA allies for years have been pushing conspiracy theories regarding stolen elections and massive election fraud, though countless audits, reviews, and legal cases have proven otherwise.

Despite the facts, Republican lawmakers have been aggressively pushing for passage of the SAVE Act – legislation that seeks to force citizens to present ID before casting a ballot in an election.

Per federal law, a president is prohibited from deploying military troops "at any place where a general or special election is held."

Cover photo: Collage: MANDEL NGAN / AFP & Shannon Finney / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

More on Donald Trump: