U.S. shakes up election politics: Trump raises 'election fraud' claims against Democrats, while defense secretary campaigns for ruling party candidate

\r\n[The Financial News] President Donald Trump has raised suspicions of election fraud over a mail-in ballot delivery error in Maryland, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth drew controversy by personally appearing at a campaign rally to support a Republican candidate. As conspiracy theories surrounding elections and concerns over the military's political neutrality surfaced at the same time, tensions in U.S. politics have intensified.
On the 18th local time, Trump claimed on Truth Social that "500,000 illegal mail-in ballots were sent out in Maryland" and called for an immediate Justice Department investigation.
According to Fox News, some of the 400,000 voters in Maryland who requested mail-in ballots over the weekend received primary ballots for a different party than the one they were registered with. Primary elections are the process of selecting Republican and Democratic candidates who will run in the November midterm elections.
The contractor that mailed the ballots recommended destroying the misdelivered ballots. However, Republican circles raised concerns about election integrity, including the possibility of fraudulent or duplicate voting.
Trump said, "No one knows what is happening to the 500,000 ballots that were sent out first," adding, "What's more, many of these ballots were delivered to Democratic supporters, so Republican candidates running in Maryland have no chance of winning."
Trump blamed Wes Moore, the Democratic governor of Maryland, for the incident, saying, "He allowed this to happen to ensure a Democratic victory. I am sure this kind of thing has clearly been going on for years."
That same day, Hegseth, described as Trump's loyal aide, came under fire for political neutrality concerns after attending a support event in Kentucky for Republican House candidate Ed Gallrein.
Gallrein, who has Trump’s backing, is challenging incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie, who is widely seen as strongly anti-Trump. At the event, Hegseth highlighted Gallrein's military background and openly urged support, calling him "the best person to strengthen President Trump."
As criticism mounted, the Ministry of National Defense explained that Hegseth had visited Kentucky on official business and attended the event in a "personal capacity."
However, criticism continues to grow that it is highly unusual for a sitting defense secretary to campaign for a candidate from a specific party, given that the U.S. military has long upheld political neutrality as a core principle. Some also argue that it was inappropriate for the defense chief to take part in campaign activity at a time when military tensions between the United States and Iran have not been fully resolved.
Lawrence Sellin, a retired Army officer and counterintelligence expert, argued that if Hegseth uses his public position as defense secretary to interfere in a congressional primary, it would violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits political activity by federal employees, and he should be removed from office immediately.
Hegseth has frequently drawn controversy for his strongly partisan behavior, including dismissing senior officials he believed lacked loyalty to the Trump administration.
whywani@fnnews.com Hong Chaewan Reporter