Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman is sounding the alarm about something that, until recently, seemed unthinkable.
In a sharp warning delivered during an appearance on The Jim Acosta Show Tuesday, Goldman said President Donald Trump’s recent speech to hundreds of top U.S. generals at Marine Corps Base Quantico wasn’t just political bluster — it was laying the groundwork for an authoritarian power grab. Specifically, Goldman believes Trump hinted at plans to cancel the 2028 presidential election
“It’s also, I think, really dangerous because it is trying to manufacture a crisis so that Donald Trump can continue to take more and more authoritarian actions and so that he can usurp more and power,” Goldman told Acosta.
Trump’s speech to military leaders included familiar themes — talk of the “enemy within,” violent crime in cities run by Democrats, and the need to secure the southern border. But Goldman says the subtext is more sinister: laying the foundation for arguing that the country is in such chaos, elections must be put on pause.
“And ultimately, my view is that he is looking ahead to 2028, where he will say that, for cockamamie made-up reasons like he’s talking to these generals about,” Goldman continued.
“That ‘well, look, we’re being invaded from within from the enemy within and we’ve got to keep our border safe. And that’s what our focus has to be. We can’t possibly have an election under these circumstances.’”
That’s not a hypothetical, in Goldman’s view. When Acosta asked bluntly, “You really think that could happen?” Goldman didn’t flinch.
“Yeah, I think that’s where a lot of this is heading towards,” he said. “I think that’s why he’s floating a third term. That’s why he’s using this language of a war, of the enemy within, of securing our border.”
If that sounds alarmist, consider what Trump actually said at Quantico. In front of senior military brass, he spoke about using the military to deal with internal threats, and floated the idea of sending troops into Democratic-run cities like Chicago and Portland. He framed the military’s role as not just external defense — but protecting the country from enemies “within.”
That rhetoric, paired with Trump’s frequent musings about staying in power beyond two terms — something explicitly barred by the Constitution — is setting off sirens among those watching the steady erosion of democratic norms.
Goldman’s warning wasn’t subtle. His point is that we’ve heard this tune before. Manufactured crises. Declarations of chaos. Demonizing political opponents as traitors or invaders. And now, talk of elections being too dangerous to hold. It’s the kind of authoritarian script that doesn’t end well — and rarely gets called out in real time.
Whether Trump would or could actually cancel an election is a legal and logistical minefield. But what Goldman is saying is that it may not matter — because what Trump is doing now is shifting the narrative to make the unthinkable seem inevitable.
Watch the clip below:
