Gabriella Power:
Joining us now is chief economist at the Institute of Public Affairs, Adam Creighton. Adam, it’s great to see you again. Thank you for joining us.
New Jersey’s governor has announced thousands of non-citizens were registered to vote in the state and some cast ballots in past elections. So Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill said that a serious software error in New Jersey’s motor vehicle system led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024, and it actually led to 400 non-citizens casting their vote. This, of course, comes as the Trump administration is trying to crack down on non-citizen voting. So, look, talk to us about this, just how serious is it?
Adam Creighton:
Well, look, I think it’s fairly serious, certainly politically. But as you say, there’s the SAVE Act, as it’s known before Congress at the moment. It’s passed the lower house, but it’s stalled in the Senate, and that act basically would require national voter ID. It would force states to clean up their electoral roles, such as New Jersey’s, as you’ve just been talking about here.
The U.S., in so many ways, is so advanced, but also in some ways, it’s very backward. And one of those backward ways is the electoral system, which is often run by counties and cities and not even states. Seats are often gerrymandered. It’s very partisan. There’s no national commission of elections like we have here in Australia. So, I think the embarrassment of this, the 6,000 non-citizens, and they say only 400 voted, but I mean, they don’t really know because you’re not going to admit that you’re a non-citizen if you’re voting. So it’s very, very hard to tell. And of course, that 6,000, that’s just one of 50 states. So there’s probably many, many thousand more non-citizens who are on the rolls. So the numbers are not quite there in the Senate yet because it’s a two-thirds majority, I think, for this act. But maybe the embarrassment for the Democrats with this will push it over the line.
Gabriella Power:
Yeah, and I think it really highlights why voter ID is actually a good idea.
Let’s look at the media’s coverage of this. Here’s CNN’s Jake Tapper admitting what has been uncovered in New Jersey is not a good look for the Democrats.
Jake Tapper:
I have to say, though, for Democrats, I’m not saying that the SAVE America, the SAVE Act is going to pass. But this is not good for Democrats’ argument that there’s no such thing as undocumented immigrants voting.
CNN Panel:
This is not good for our country generally, I would say.
Jake Tapper:
Right. Even better. [inaudible 00:02:25]. Yeah.
CNN Panel:
And this is a terrible problem to have. I think she handled it correctly.
Gabriella Power:
It’s interesting because here’s Jake Tapper previously really assuring Americans that non-citizen voting is not really a serious concern. Look at what he said in the past.
CNN Panel:
The Republicans here are talking about a solution to a non-existent problem. Again, Jake, to make it very clear, this country does not have a problem of election security in any measurable level, and certainly not based on people coming from other countries.
Jake Tapper:
Right. It happens, but that very, very minuscule numbers. It’s not a serious threat when it comes to election security. Again, it happens, but very seldom-
CNN Panel:
It’s just vanishingly small. I mean, it is so small that it’s just beyond compare.
Gabriella Power:
So, it’s not just the Democrats, but parts of the media have also not wanted to look into this.
Adam Creighton:
Well, certainly since the 2020 election, the vast bulk of the media did not side with Donald Trump, obviously, and so they want to play down any of these discrepancies. But you simply can’t say that the problem is vanishingly small when there’s been no national inquiry into this issue. Just as I said earlier, the elections are all run by the states and by cities, so it’s all extremely decentralised. I just hope that this act is passed, and then there’s national voter ID in the U.S., as there should be. There should be here in Australia, too, by the way. But the overwhelming bulk of Americans actually support a voter ID, drivers’ licences being shown or passports being shown or whatever. I think it’s something like 80 or 90%.
Gabriella Power:
That’s right.
Adam Creighton:
But the Democrats don’t like it because they believe that they do get some sort of electoral advantage from people voting who should not be voting. And it’s also worth pointing out that Black Americans and Hispanic Americans, they also support national voter ID in large majorities. So, let’s just see what happens now. But I think maybe America’s reaching the point where it will finally bite the bullet and it will reform its electoral system.
Gabriella Power:
No, you’re absolutely right. It’s an 80/20 issue. And I see a lot of responses from Americans out in the streets all wanting it and see the value of voter ID making elections secure. I think it’s very interesting that some Democrats are against it.
I want to get your thoughts on Joe Biden because a federal appeals court has rejected the former president’s request to prevent audio recordings and transcripts from an old interview that he gave his memoir ghostwriter from becoming public. So in a 2-1 decision, the panel determined that there was substantial public interest in releasing the material that Joe Biden has been trying to keep private. A four-minute snippet has already been released by Axios back in 2015, showing that Joe Biden struggled to remember quite a few key things, including the years that he was vice president. So, this is a blow to Joe Biden, who really wants these tapes hidden, and you just have to wonder why that is.
Adam Creighton:
Yeah. Well, look, I don’t think he’s going to succeed. I mean, the District of Columbia Circuit Court that made that decision is one of the most left-wing courts in the country. And so it’s sided against him, the former president. And I can understand why. I mean, once you become a president, basically lots of things that you say, whether it’s in private or public, they are in the public interest, and that’s what that court decided. And so I think Americans and historians do want to hear what he had to say back those years ago. So it looks like he’s going to lose the case.
And probably he wants them hidden because it’s just going to be even more embarrassment for him. I mean, the things that have come out already do not cast him in a very positive light, and I’m sure that’s going to be extended when this eventually emerges. But this could go to the Supreme Court, who knows? So, it could take years before we actually get to hear the full thing.
Gabriella Power:
Yeah. Well, I think it also speaks to the coverup, just how… the extent of covering up his decline and potentially when it started.
Let’s turn to New York City, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani has now acknowledged that he actually can’t arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite rather promising to do so during his campaign.
Zohran Mamdani:
As mayor, New York City would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu. This is a city that our values are in line with international law. It’s time that our actions are also.
Mehdi Hasan:
Even though the U.S. is not a signature of the ICC?
Zohran Mamdani:
No, it’s time that we actually step up and make clear what we are willing to do to showcase the leadership that is sorely missing in the federal-
Gabriella Power:
So, that’s what he said during the campaign, and this is what he has since admitted.
Zohran Mamdani:
It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.
Gabriella Power:
So, Mamdani insists, though, that Netanyahu is not welcome to New York City. Adam, what do you make of this?
Adam Creighton:
Well, look, he must have been lying at the time earlier on, unless he’s stupid, because it’s pretty obvious that the New York City doesn’t have the authority to arrest a foreign leader. You can’t just make up a warrant without ground. So, I think it reflects very badly on him. And just a reminder that his supporters just like these far-left, woke soundbites and they go for that. It obviously worked at the time, he was elected. And now he looks a bit silly. Look, it’s probably not going to have much of effect because he released that viral tweet and video, which I think has been viewed millions of times. That would have been lapped up by his left-wing supporters. And I’m pretty sure the Israeli Prime Minister will safely go to New York in September for his various meetings. But yeah, the man looks pretty silly.
Gabriella Power:
Oh, he absolutely does. Now, we hear a lot in the media that Donald Trump’s not popular. Of course, the war might not be popular. But here is CNN actually admitting when it comes to Republicans, Donald Trump still has the magic touch.
CNN Panel:
Trump is still very popular with Republicans. Just take a look here. Okay. 21st century own party approval rating, about at this point in second term. We got Trump, we got Obama, we got Bush. Look, they’re all fairly popular, but the one who is the most popular, and we have seen this time in and time out, no matter when you look, is Donald John Trump. He’s the only one who’s over 80%. 83% of Republicans still approve of the job that Donald Trump is doing as president. He still has that magic touch. We’ll see if it carries over to South Carolina, but we’ve seen it in primaries this year, Senate primaries, and that’s because he is still a very popular man, historically popular when it comes to his own party liking and approving of the job that he’s doing.
Gabriella Power:
Look, it is pretty extraordinary. What do you put that down to?
Adam Creighton:
It is. Well, look, he’s still just very popular on the right of American politics. There’s no doubt about that. I mean, those figures are just extraordinary. With the GOP base, he’s exceedingly popular. Of course, his overall approval ratings are not great.
But I mean, as for Darline Graham, I’m sure she’s very sad about her brother’s death, but it looks like she’s really hit the jackpot here. She’s going to win the primary. And then because South Carolina’s a very Republican state, she’ll probably win the Senate race as well later this year. So then she’ll have six years in the upper house, which is a very, very rare gig to get.
Gabriella Power:
Adam Creighton, Chief Economist at the Institute of Public Affairs. Thank you so much for joining us on Power Hour. Great to speak with you.
Adam Creighton:
Likewise. Thanks for having me.
This transcript of Adam Creighton on Power Hour Sky News Australia from 23 July 2026 has been edited for clarity.
