U.S. President Donald Trump Mentions Invoking Insurrection Act for November Midterm Elections: "Won’t Rule It Out"

[Financial News]  Donald Trump, the U.S. president who mentioned deploying troops by invoking the Insurrection Act during last year’s crackdown on illegal immigration, said he could invoke the act if unrest breaks out during November’s midterm elections.
According to an interview published by the U.S. news magazine Time on the 1st (local time), Trump raised the Insurrection Act again in an interview conducted at the White House on the 28th of last month. Asked whether he would declare a state of emergency if widespread violence broke out in connection with the midterm elections, he said, "I’m not ruling anything out or making any determination. We’ll see."
Trump asked the host whether declaring a state of emergency would mean invoking the Insurrection Act, then answered, "I’ve never used it (the Insurrection Act). I could use it." He added, "A lot of people think I should use it occasionally."
Steve Bannon, a right-wing commentator who served as chief strategist at the White House during Trump’s first term, predicted in July that Trump would declare a state of emergency under the pretext of protecting election integrity. In an interview with the right-wing outlet Real America’s Voice released on Aug. 11, Trump was likewise asked whether he could declare a state of emergency because of the election. "I’ll just say this: stranger things have happened in this world. I’ll leave it at that," he said.
The Insurrection Act, enacted in 1807, allows the federal government to deploy federal troops to state jurisdictions when riots or rebellions occur within the United States. Trump mentioned the act after protests and unrest erupted in Democratic-led cities during U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s crackdown on illegal immigration last October. On Oct. 7 last year, he warned, "I will invoke it if necessary," referring to the Insurrection Act.
People in the United States and abroad are concerned about violent incidents similar to last year’s immigration-enforcement unrest around the November midterm elections. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters last month that ICE agents could be deployed at polling places in situations involving specific threats or the execution of warrants. He said, "The only reason we would go to a polling place is if there is a threat at that polling place or if we are executing a warrant for someone we have been actively tracking," adding, "If we are executing a warrant, we will go wherever necessary." However, in an interview on the 1st, Trump said he had "never thought about" deploying ICE agents at polling places.
Trump responded to assessments that Republicans face bleak prospects in this election, "It would be okay if I campaigned," adding, "I think we’re going to do well." He said that if Democrats win a House majority in the election, "They’ll probably attack me, and I’ll attack them."
Trump also said he would "of course" grant preemptive pardons to members of his administration before the end of his term when asked whether he would do so. He answered, "Of course I will. Sleepy Joe Biden (the former president) pardoned everyone."
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