How I Fear Trump Will Unleash ICE to Rig Midterms

The Daily Beast Podcast

The Daily Beast

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4.6 • 8.4K Ratings

🗓️ 26 February 2026

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Joanna Coles sits down with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey for a bracing conversation that moves from Trump’s State of the Union theatrics to what she calls a calculated effort to normalize chaos ahead of 2026. Gov. Healey unloads on the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files, slams RFK Jr.’s vaccine rollbacks, and details how she’s battling ICE crackdowns, slashed federal funding, and what she warns could be attempts to “federalize” elections and intimidate voters with troops and manufactured fraud claims. As Democrats wrestle with generational change, leadership, and how to win back voters battered by affordability crises, Healey argues the real fight isn’t 2028—it’s protecting the ballot and delivering tangible results right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Prime Video brings the best in entertainment.
0:03.0	The end of the world continues with season two of the global phenomenon, Fallout, included with Prime.
0:09.0	I defer to you about what to do in this situation.
0:12.0	Bring home the epic conclusion to the untold story of the Witches of Oz.
0:16.0	Buy or rent, Wicked for Good Now.
0:18.0	I'm taking you to see the wizard.
0:20.0	There's no going back. Whatever you're
0:22.3	into, it's right here. Prime Video. Click or tap the banner to find out more. I think that what we
0:31.0	have to anticipate is not only will we see ICE, we'll see every federal agency set out around ballot
0:37.4	polling places to scare people away.
0:40.3	I think it's important that we talk about what is actually being attempted right now by the Trump administration
0:48.3	and that we have in place, what we need to have in place to protect people's rights. I have confidence in
0:56.4	state and local officials to do just that, but I don't think we should underestimate the links
1:02.5	that the president and the administration will go to come November.
1:09.8	I'm Joanna Coles. This is the Daily Beast podcast and we have a terrific conversation for you today with the governor of Massachusetts where the civil war for the Democratic Party is playing out between progressives and I guess the more moderate wing of the party.
1:26.8	And Governor Healy has all sorts of things to say
1:30.1	about Donald Trump, about Keystone Cash Patel, about her former AG colleague Pam Bondi, about Larry Summers,
1:38.5	who resigned from Harvard as we were having our conversation, and about the security and the safety of the elections.
1:47.3	Oh, and did I mention we got into RFK Jr. 2 and the safety and security of families who want to
1:53.6	have vaccinations? No time to waste. Let's get into it. Governor Healy, thank you for joining us.
2:04.8	And I know you're on storm patrol.
2:11.3	We were due to do this in person and then, of course, you got stranded, organizing storm patrol.
	...

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