Trump Allies Push for ‘Martial Law’ in November Midterms: Atlantic

A new report from The Atlantic says some of President Donald Trump’s outside allies are urging him to declare martial law or a national security emergency to take control of the November midterm elections. The story lands with roughly six weeks until Election Day and adds another layer of political risk for markets already navigating a heavy macro calendar.

What The Atlantic reported

The Atlantic reported that White House and Cabinet advisers have spent months trying to pull Trump’s attention away from election conspiracy theories as some of his most devoted outside allies push him to take control of this fall’s midterms, even through martial law.

Advisers have worked to steer Trump away from baseless fraud claims pushed by figures such as attorney Peter Ticktin, conservative host Wayne Allyn Root and former Colorado clerk Tina Peters, while at the same time authorizing efforts to find evidence that would make those claims appear more credible.

The Ticktin scenarios

Ticktin described three possible outcomes for the midterms. He said a smooth election would not happen because he claimed, without evidence, that Democrats had already cheated in primaries. His second scenario involved Trump acting before the election to stop what Ticktin alleged would be cheating. His third involved Trump trying to declare martial law on or around November 3.

‘Either martial law, or step aside,’ Ticktin told The Atlantic. Asked about possible unrest if Trump tried to overturn election results, Ticktin replied that the armed forces are a lot bigger than protesters.

Do you want to see how to make more plays? Do you want to find gains yourself?

Unusual Whales helps you find market opportunities through our market tide, historical options flow, GEX, and much, much more.

Create a free account here to start conquering the market with Unusual Whales.

White House pushback

Trump has not said he intends to declare martial law. A White House official told The Atlantic that Peter Ticktin, Wayne Allyn Root and Tina Peters have no role in White House election policy.

The distinction matters because the Constitution gives states responsibility for setting the times, places and manner of congressional elections, while allowing Congress to make or alter those regulations. A presidential emergency declaration does not by itself transfer control of federal elections to the White House.

Trump’s own signals

Trump has not been shy about signaling his intention to meddle in the midterms. In August, when radio host Wayne Allyn Root pushed Trump to declare a national-security emergency to require proof of citizenship, voter ID, and other measures, Trump played coy and said stranger things have happened.

Why markets should care

Election-related tail risk is not typically priced until it becomes concrete, but any move toward invoking emergency powers around a federal election would hit Treasuries, the dollar, and equity risk premiums fast. Defense names, cybersecurity plays, and prediction-market linked assets tend to see the first flows on this kind of headline.

Watch VIX term structure and short-dated SPX skew into late October for any repricing of political risk.

Options market and stocks to watch

SPY: watch for hedging demand and skew steepening if election-risk headlines escalate into October.

VXX: watch for volatility bids tied to political-risk premium as November 3 approaches.

LMT and RTX: watch defense flow for any reaction to emergency-powers rhetoric.

DJT: watch for retail-driven moves on any Trump-linked political headlines.

GLD: watch for safe-haven bids if institutional risk-off tone builds around election uncertainty.

Want more market intelligence? Create your free Unusual Whales account for options flow, market tide, GEX, and the full toolkit.