President Donald Trump suggested that Republicans may have to “nationalize the voting” in a Monday interview, predicting that “interesting” details would come out of the FBI’s probe of a Fulton County, Georgia, election office last week.

Trump told conservative podcaster and former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino that Republicans “should take over the voting in at least 15 places,” citing his belief that it’s the only way to secure elections.

“The Republicans should say, we want to take over, we should take over the voting, the voting in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,” Trump told Bongino.

“We have states that are so crooked and they’re counting votes. We have states that I won that show I didn’t win,” he said. “Now, you’re going to see something in Georgia where they were able to get the ballots with the court order. You will see some interesting things come out. But like the 2020 election. I won that election by so much. Everybody knows it.”

Last Wednesday, the FBI raided a Georgia election office and took 700 boxes of election materials. The raid was reportedly related to a federal probe into allegations of interference in the 2020 election, which Trump lost to former President Joe Biden. Trump has argued that the 2020 election results from Georgia were rigged against him. Trump lost to Biden by fewer than 12,000 votes in Georgia in 2020.

Fulton County officials are questioning the legality of the FBI’s search and said the county would sue and attempt to “force the government to return the ballots taken.”

When asked about Trump’s comments to Bongino, a White House official told The Daily Wire on Tuesday morning that Trump doesn’t believe states taking election security seriously. The official highlighted more than a dozen states, including California, New York, and Illinois, that do not require photo ID to vote, and accused many states of refusing to comply with federal law on sharing voter-roll information.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told The Daily Wire: “President Trump cares deeply about the safety and security of our elections – that’s why he’s urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act and other legislative proposals that would establish a uniform standard of photo ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and end the practice of ballot harvesting.”

The SAVE Act, which passed the House last year, would require voters to provide ID and proof of citizenship before casting their ballots in an attempt to prevent illegal immigrants and noncitizens from voting. It has stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Trump also told Bongino that Republicans must deport the millions of illegal immigrants who were allowed to flood the country under Biden, or the party “will never win another election.”

“It’s crazy how you can get these [illegal immigrants] to vote,” he added. “And if we don’t get them out, Republicans will never win another election. Think of it, I won in a landslide. I won every swing state. I won the popular vote by millions. I won everything.”

“But you’re never going to have that again if you don’t get these people out. These people were brought to our country to vote, and they vote illegally,” he continued. “And it’s amazing that the Republicans aren’t tougher on it.”

Trump has also recently claimed that he won Minnesota in each of the past three elections as his administration focuses on the state’s fraud and immigration issues. Trump’s Democratic opponent carried the state in the past three presidential races.

“They’re crooked officials,” he said of Minnesota leaders. “I feel that I won Minnesota. I think I won it all three times … and I didn’t get credit for it.”

WASHINGTON—The War Department is monitoring efforts by Virginia Democrats to potentially cripple the Virginia Military Institute, The Daily Wire can first report.

Cadets at VMI, the nation’s first state-sponsored and supported military college, have grown increasingly anxious about the fate of their institution since Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger entered office and appointed former Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to VMI’s Board of Visitors.

Northam had ordered an audit into alleged racism and sexism at VMI in 2021, amid the Democrat-led wave of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion measures in universities across the nation — measures supported by then-President Joe Biden and his administration.

Now, Virginia Democrats suggest that the military institution is still rife with racism, sexism, and cultural barriers. They proposed two measures taking aim at the school: their proposed House Bill 1377 establishes a task force evaluating whether VMI should still be funded by the state, and House Bill 1374 would end VMI’s Board of Visitors and give the state full oversight of the institution.

Revoking VMI’s state funding would likely lead to the school’s demise.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told The Daily Wire on Tuesday that the War Department “reserves the right to take extraordinary measures to protect the integrity of VMI.”

“Our commitment to the cadets and midshipmen currently training there remains steadfast,” he said.

Some state representatives who support the measures, like Democrat Michael Feggans of Virginia Beach, point to VMI’s roots in the Civil War, arguing that the institution has buildings on campus named for Confederate military figures.

“For VMI to flourish into the future, it must be allowed to move unfettered by the ghosts of the past, ghosts rooted in efforts to keep this country divided,” Feggans said during a Monday subcommittee meeting on the matter.

Democrat state Rep. Dan Helmer of Fairfax, frustrated that VMI did not renew the contract of VMI’s first black superintendent, told one local outlet: “For those of us, like me, who care deeply about service and care deeply about producing leaders of character, we need to ensure that VMI has turned the page.”

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger watches the Corps. of Cadets from the Virginia Military Institute (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Parnell shared with The Daily Wire on Tuesday that the Pentagon is specifically monitoring Virginia House Bill 1374 “with significant concern.”

“For generations, the unique military environment at VMI has made the institute a vital source of commissioned officers for the Armed Forces,” he said. “The stability of this proven leadership pipeline is a matter of direct national security interest and any action that could disrupt the ecosystem requires our full attention.”

Emphasizing the Trump administration’s commitment to the cadets and midshipmen training at VMI, Parnell promised that the War Department has the right to take the “extraordinary measures” to protect the institution.

“We urge the Virginia General Assembly to consider the broader implications of this bill on military readiness, as well as the federal government’s long-standing investment in this critical institution,” he said.

Parnell’s words will come as a relief to cadets and their families who have watched the developments of the last few weeks with concern.

Michael Ferrara, a VMI student, told Fox News in late January that he chose the school because he wanted to serve his country. He and his fellow cadets are proud of the long legacy of accomplished fighters that have emerged from VMI: “We’ve had approximately 300 generals and flag officers coming from the Virginia Military Institute. We’ve had seven Medal of Honor recipients, 11 Rhodes Scholars, one Nobel Prize winner.”

Ferrara and his roommate, Devin Auzenne, brushed aside allegations that VMI is not inclusive enough.

“My two roommates, they look nothing like me, come from completely different places, worship different gods,” said Auzenne. “My roommates … these are the people who I can call my brothers, my family, my friends, and anytime I ever need them, they’ll always be here for me. I can say VMI is the most inclusive environment that I have ever been a part of.”