Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) appeared on Donald Trump Jr.'s podcast Triggered on Monday, and he had a lot to say about Sunday's election run-off in Colombia. Moreno, who is, of course, a Colombian immigrant, was back in his home country over the weekend as an international election observer.
What he saw impressed him.
In case you missed it, the right-wing candidate, Abelardo de la Espriella (aka El Tigre), beat out far-left president Gustavo Petro's hand-picked successor, Iván Cepeda. Thankfully, El Tigre won. The numbers showed a tight race, a country divided. While it is a country divided, many say it's not that divided, that there are many other factors at play here, but I'll save that for another day. Petro is also carrying on about how it's not a done deal and Israel and something else no one cares about blah blah blah, but it's pretty much a done deal.
The right-minded world, including Marco Rubio, congratulated El Tigre almost immediately to show that we are watching. Plus, Petro's hands are a bit tied with OFAC sanctions and other reasons why he doesn't want to make Donald Trump and Rubio mad, so he doesn't have much of a leg to stand on. He may make some short-term noise, but he's gone in August and has his own personal agenda.
But what struck Moreno and many of us who have been paying close attention to this situation is that despite all of that, the elections in Colombia actually went pretty smoothly. The country was able to have results ready in hours, thanks to its "world-class" system, which includes:
- Voter ID and proof of Colombian citizenship
- Paper, in-person ballots that are hand-counted.
- No widespread mail-in voting (Colombians living in other countries are allowed to vote)
- Biometrics at some sites for additional security
- Transparent, observed elections that result in 99%-plus ballots counted the same night
It's the complete opposite of what we've seen recently in California, and Moreno wants to put an end to that and show people in the United States that it doesn't have to be this way.
"We made the decision, and I've talked to [Sens.] Rick Scott, Mike Lee, and Ron Johnson about this, we're going to bring in the people who ran the Colombian election, we're going to subpoena Gavin Newsom, and we're going to have a hearing: California vs. Colombia," Moreno said. "Why can Colombia run an election at that high level, and California is so incompetent? And I think the American people need to see this, Don — we're going to put this right in their faces and say, 'Look, the SAVE AMERICA act says prove you're an American citizen and show who you are when you vote.' And we can't get 60 out of 100 Senators to vote for that? That's a disgrace."
Breaking news tonight on my triggered podcast
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 22, 2026
Sen Bernie Moreno says Gavin Newsom will be subpoenaed to appear at joint hearing with Colombian election officials , to explain why Colombia can check voter ID and count votes quickly but California can’t
Love it!!! pic.twitter.com/ON33KZY8x9
Moreno also posted on social media that "The people of Colombia have spoken and the institutions charged with conducting this election did it impeccably and in a world class fashion. In fact, we have a lot to learn on how to have secure elections and, at a later date, will ask Colombian officials to brief the US Congress on their process."
He also pointed out that the Colombian elections are proof that every argument against the SAVE America Act is a lie.
To be more specific, every Colombian must have PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP, have the one form of ID to vote, there is no mail in ballot system, and the result today will be record turnout.
— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) June 21, 2026
In other words, every single argument against the Save America Act is a lie! https://t.co/H2ZLEhZS2a
I'd love to see this happen and hope he follows through.
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