NEW YORK, United States (CMC) — Caribbean-American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette Clarke on Friday condemned what she described as intentions by President Donald Trump to nationalise federal elections.

“Donald Trump has made his intentions unmistakably clear: he wants to nationalise our federal elections because he and his Republican enablers cannot win them fairly,” Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

“Time and again, he has signalled a willingness to undermine democratic institutions in order to cling to power and maintain one-party rule,” added the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). “Once again, he appears to be manufacturing baseless conspiracy theories, hoping to justify a power grab as voters continue to reject his extreme and deeply unpopular agenda.”

“The CBC categorically rejects the legitimacy of any executive order rooted in thoroughly debunked claims of Chinese interference in the 2020 election,” Clarke continued. “Democrats will not stand by while Donald Trump attempts to seize control of our electoral system—and neither will the American people.”

In a joint statement, United States (US) House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, Joe Morelle, said in a joint statement: “Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to nationalise our elections, because he intends to steal them.”

“Once again, the president appears intent on manufacturing conspiracy theories, so Republicans can desperately cling to power while their extreme agenda is being overwhelmingly rejected by the American people,” they said.

“We reject the legality of any executive order based on debunked claims of Chinese interference in the 2020 election,” Jeffries and Morelle added. “Democrats will not allow Donald Trump to take over this (mid-term) election and neither will the American people.”

Earlier this month, Trump said he believed the federal government should “get involved” in elections that he claimed are riddled with “corruption”.

The US president said that if states “can’t count the votes legally and honestly, then somebody else should take over”.

“Look at some of the places — that horrible corruption on elections — and the federal government should not allow that,” he added, accusing some Democratic-controlled cities of corruption. “The federal government should get involved.”