--- title: "Trump says he won’t rule out emergency or Insurrection Act before midterms" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-says-he-wont-rule-out-emergency-or-insurrection-act-before-midterms" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/trump-says-he-wont-rule-out-emergency-or-insurrection-act-before-midterms" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-says-he-wont-rule-out-emergency-or-insurrection-act-before-midterms.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/trump-says-he-wont-rule-out-emergency-or-insurrection-act-before-midterms" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-10-01T22:25:16.176Z" source_reported: "2026-10-01T20:05:04.000Z" updated: "2026-10-01T22:25:16.176Z" trust_score: 62 critic_score: 87 hype_score: 28 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-10-01T23:30:09.748832+00:00" --- # Trump says he won’t rule out emergency or Insurrection Act before midterms *In a Time magazine interview, the president also mentioned the possibility of using the powers while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the military to protect the elections from foreign interference.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 62 of 100, higher is better. Trust 62: multiple outlets and named sources (Trump, Hegseth) corroborate the claim. - Craft 87 of 100, higher is better. Critic 87: provides context, quotes Trump and Hegseth, separates fact from comment, clear narrative. - Hype 28 of 100, lower is better. Hype 28: headline modestly emphasizes but article remains measured. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - Trump told Time he would not rule out declaring a state of emergency or invoking the Insurrection Act before the November midterm elections - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the military to defend the midterms from foreign interference, prioritising cyber and intelligence capabilities - Left‑rated outlets highlighted the potential for militarising polling places, while centre‑rated outlets focused solely on Trump’s remarks - No right‑rated outlets published the story In a Time magazine interview, President Donald Trump said he would not rule out declaring a state of emergency or invoking the Insurrection Act before the upcoming midterm elections. He added that he might consider using such powers if there were widespread violence in the streets. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo directing the military to protect the midterm elections from foreign interference, emphasizing the use of cyber and intelligence capabilities to safeguard the vote. > I could use it. A lot of people think I should use it sometimes. > > — Donald Trump, former president ## What the right omitted No right‑rated reports ran this story, so they omitted all of the facts about Trump’s interview, the Defense Secretary’s memo and the broader discussion of election security. ## Who covered it Shares of the 8 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 63% (5) - Centre: 37% (3) - Right: 0% (0) 0 of 8 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-10-01T23:30:09.748832+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 6 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-10-01T23:45:06.238Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - The HuffPost full report quoted Trump directly, noting his willingness to use extraordinary powers and his comment, "I could use it. A lot of people think I should use it sometimes." The article also described Defense Secretary Hegseth’s memo and warned that the president’s remarks could lead to militarised polling places. Digests from electionlawblog.org, The Daily Boulder, Joe.My.God. and USA Today all reported that Trump did not rule out a state of emergency or the Insurrection Act, and they reproduced the same interview context without adding further detail. ### Centre - Centre‑rated digests from KFOR-TV, Political Wire and The Hill each led with Trump’s refusal to rule out invoking the Insurrection Act or declaring a national emergency around the midterms. The Hill’s summary added that the information came from White House advisers. None of these centre pieces mentioned Defense Secretary Hegseth’s memo or the potential for polling‑place militarisation. ### Right No separate framing summary. **Provisional coverage gap:** right. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - mixed: 1 - high: 6 - unknown: 1 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [KFOR-TV](https://kfor.com/news/election-headquarters/trump-not-ruling-out-invoking-insurrection-act-around-midterms) — Trump not ruling out invoking Insurrection Act around midterms - [electionlawblog.org](https://electionlawblog.org/2026/president-trump-in-time-interview-doesnt-rule-out-declaring-national-emergency-or-using-insurrection-act-during-elections-or-sending-ice-agents-to-the-polls-but-seems-mostly-unaware-of-the-i) — President Trump in TIME Interview Doesn’t Rule Out Declaring National Emergency or Using Insurrection Act During Elections or Sending Ice Agents to the Polls, But Seems Mostly Unaware of the Issue #ELB - [Political Wire](https://politicalwire.com/2026/10/01/trump-refuses-to-rule-out-insurrection-act-for-midterms) — Trump Refuses to Rule Out Insurrection Act for Midterms - [HuffPost](https://huffpost.com/entry/trump-state-of-emergency-insurrection-act-midterms_n_6abe69b0e4b02a789b333fb9) — Trump Won’t Rule Out Declaring State Of Emergency Before Midterms - [The Daily Boulder](https://dailyboulder.com/i-could-use-it-trump-floats-invoking-the-insurrection-act-or-declaring-a-state-of-emergency-ahead-of-midterms) — ‘I could use it’: Trump floats invoking the Insurrection Act or declaring a state of emergency ahead of midterms - [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6122559-trump-midterm-election-insurrection-act) — Trump not ruling out invoking Insurrection Act around midterms - [Joe.My.God.](https://joemygod.com/2026/10/trump-refuses-to-rule-out-using-insurrection-act) — Trump Refuses To Rule Out Using Insurrection Act - [USA Today](https://usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/10/01/trump-national-emergency-midterm-elections/92036013007) — Trump doesn't rule out invoking Insurrection Act around election ## Questions **What did President Trump say about using the Insurrection Act before the midterms?** President Trump told Time magazine that he would not rule out invoking the Insurrection Act or declaring a state of emergency before the November midterm elections, saying he could use it if there were widespread violence in the streets. **What action did the Defense Secretary take regarding the upcoming elections?** Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo directing the military to defend the upcoming midterm elections from foreign interference, focusing on cyber and intelligence capabilities to protect the integrity of the vote. **Which outlets reported on Trump’s comments and how did they differ?** Five left‑rated outlets, including HuffPost, quoted Trump’s statements and highlighted the Defense Secretary’s memo, while three centre‑rated outlets reported only Trump’s refusal to rule out the powers and did not mention the memo or concerns about polling‑place militarisation. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-says-he-wont-rule-out-emergency-or-insurrection-act-before-midterms. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Trump says he won’t rule out emergency or Insurrection Act before midterms", https://mediabias.news/politics/trump-says-he-wont-rule-out-emergency-or-insurrection-act-before-midterms