'Total gobbledygook': Trump DOJ roasted for nonsense election meddling

President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a campaign rally at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, August 21, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

President Donald Trump's Attorney General attempted to defend the administration's latest bombshell election lawsuit, prompting a thorough roasting from observers across social media, with one prominent New York Times columnist calling his argument "total gobbledygook."

The Justice Department this week filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to block the certification of Alaska's Senate race if incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan loses by a small enough margin. The agency alleged that too much confusion was being created by the presence of another third-party candidate also named Dan Sullivan on the ballot, despite the fact that the state's Supreme Court allowed the situation to play out months ago.

Critics warned that this was an effort to meddle with the lawful results of the race, where polls show Democratic nominee Mary Peltola poised to flip that seat, despite Alaska's red state reputation.

Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared on CBS News Sunday, where he was pressed to defend the DOJ's Alaska suit. He argued that the agency is "asking the court to step in where the Alaska Supreme Court didn't, which is to look at federal law and, if necessary, to allow a process for Alaska to decide who should be certified as the winner," despite the fact that elections themselves are what decided who gets certified.

Blanche's excuse was met with more scrutiny from critics, with liberal NYT columnist Jamelle Bouie arguing on BlueSky that his explanation was complete nonsense and further exposed the Trump administration's midterm desperation.

"This is total gobbledygook? The process to decide who should be certified as the winner is the election, and there is no federal law that says the courts get to decide who that is," Bouie posted. "This interview is a real sign that they are just throwing s—— and desperately hoping that it sticks."

Bouie also later responded to a clip from Blanche's Sunday appearance on CNN, where host Dana Bash asked what the crime is that they are targeting in Alaska. Blanche argued only that there could potentially be a crime, and that Alaskans being confused was the main issue, to which Bash stressed that the state Supreme Court had already litigated the issue.

"You know, I think this guy might be bad at the law," Bouie added.

Former Republican media consultant Matthew Scheffield responded to Bouie's thread, adding: "It's even dumber since ranked choice voting, which Trump says is a scam even though it led to him winning in Alaska 3 times, eliminates any confusion over Dan Sullivans since you can just rank the other one second. This rhetoric is not supposed to make sense. It's supposed to create confusion."

Bradley P. Moss, a lawyer based in Washington, D.C., also responded to a clip of Blanche's argument on CNN, saying that it reveals how much "They have nothing" to work with when it comes to meddling with the midterms.

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