Donald Trump, 79, just said the quiet part loud: he doesn’t think there should be midterm elections this November because he’s “done so much” as president. Translation: he knows Republicans are about to get absolutely wrecked at the polls.
“It’s some deep psychological thing, but when you win the presidency, you don’t win the midterms,” Trump told Reuters in a 30-minute Oval Office interview. Then came the kicker: “When you think of it, we shouldn’t even have an election.”
WHAT’S GOING ON: This isn’t the first time Trump has floated canceling the midterms. Earlier this month, he told House Republicans at the Kennedy Center that “they should cancel” the elections, then warned of what happens if the GOP loses. “If we don’t win the midterms, it’s just going to be—I mean, they’ll find a reason to impeach me. I’ll get impeached.”
So there it is. The President of the United States is openly suggesting we skip democracy because he might face consequences for his actions. Cool, cool, cool.
THE DETAILS: Historically, the party in power almost always takes a beating in midterm elections—that’s just how it works. But Republicans are in an especially precarious position: they’re clinging to a razor-thin House majority, Trump’s approval ratings are in the tank, and voters are furious about everything from the Epstein files debacle to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Trump seems to know the writing is on the wall. “If you go back a long way, the sitting president—whether it’s Democrat or Republican—always loses the midterm, even if they’ve done well,” he told Sean Hannity last week. “Almost always.”
But here’s the thing about Trump: instead of accepting that elections have consequences, he’d rather just… not have them.
OF COURSE: When asked about Americans struggling with rising grocery prices, Trump’s response was to hold up a thick binder of papers allegedly documenting his “achievements” and suggest he just needs to do a better job promoting himself. Not lowering prices. Not addressing the affordability crisis. Just better PR.
He also claimed the economy is “the strongest in history”—which will surely come as news to anyone who’s tried to buy eggs recently.
WHY IT MATTERS: Let’s be clear about what’s happening here. A sitting president is repeatedly, openly suggesting that elections shouldn’t happen because his party might lose. This isn’t a joke. This isn’t some off-hand comment. He said it at the Kennedy Center. He said it to Reuters. He said it to Hannity.
When someone tells you who they are, believe them. Trump is telling us he views democracy as optional—something to be discarded when it becomes inconvenient for him. The fact that he’s willing to say this out loud, on the record, should alarm every single American, regardless of party.
The midterms are in November. They’re happening. And based on Trump’s own panicked rhetoric, he knows exactly how they’re going to go.