Trump says he may veto Democrats' bills if they win Congress on 3 November

A veto threat before the vote

Donald Trump said on the Pod Force One podcast, broadcast on Monday, 2 November, that if Democrats take control of Congress he would probably become a president who vetoes their bills. He said he would veto the bills they send him and that, after a month or two of vetoes, the two sides would likely reach some kind of agreement. In his view this is how such arrangements usually work, and he argued it would not be the first time. He also floated pre-emptive pardons for all of his staff and said he would like to run for president again.

What is at stake on 3 November

The midterm elections are scheduled for Tuesday, 3 November 2026, and will decide which party holds a majority in Congress for the next two years. Democrats have been in the minority in both chambers for two years. Polls suggest they have a strong chance of regaining the House of Representatives, and they also hope to win the Senate. The timeline below marks the two dates that frame the veto remarks and the vote.

Trump on his campaign and the polls

Trump said his personal campaigning helps Republicans, pointing to large crowds at his rallies, and said he had never been as involved in a midterm election before. He noted that presidents of both parties have historically performed poorly in midterm years, while adding that the country is in excellent shape and that he wants it to stay that way. Asked about polls showing Republican defeat, he called them rigged. He claimed many pollsters do not send anyone into the field and simply collect large payments, stressing that this was only his opinion. He added that he knows no one who has ever taken part in a poll, again accused Democrats of electoral fraud, and said he expected things to go reasonably well for his side based on the rallies.

Doubts inside the Republican Party

Republican lawmakers, activists and candidates privately blame Trump for the setbacks they expect, and some predict a public reckoning after the vote. The accounts come from a dozen or so congressmen, activists and candidates, who point to his foreign policy decisions as having weakened the party. The war with Iran is singled out, and one House Republican said the party had felt it could defy the usual pattern of midterm losses until Trump bombed Iran, after which problems kept piling up. The critics cited say higher fuel and fertiliser prices after the war hit voters in the Midwest hardest, while tariffs and the trade war with Canada became a problem in border states. Whether the criticism turns public after the vote remains to be seen.

Other voices in the party

Republican consultant T.W. Arrighi mocked Trump's rallies and his praise for Senator Jon Husted and singer Nicki Minaj, saying with irony that this was a strong closing message for the campaign. Arrighi suggested the party could hold Trump to account once the votes are counted. Other insiders compare Trump with Barack Obama, whose party also suffered a painful midterm defeat. One congressman said Trump had outmaneuvered his enemies but never his friends, pointing to differences in how the two presidents led.