Trump's Lighthearted Remark on 2026 Midterms Misrepresented by Media, White House Sets Record Straight

"...Worried about losing unified Republican power in Washington and mystified at his lack of support among the public..."

"...Trump doesn't understand why his approval rating is underwater..."

"...Trump routinely says things that seem like trolls until they don't..."

"...It makes sense that Trump would dread the November midterms..."

"...Trump's administration has been moving at breakneck speed to change the government..."

"...The president's distrust of US elections is legendary..."

"...Trump has also mused about using emergency powers to meddle with elections..."

"...Even the elections he has won, he has said were rigged..."

"...People are talking about doomsday election scenarios..."

"...Election officials say they are thinking very carefully about all of this..."

"...The fact that we're running through these scenarios in the first place should tell you something about the health of our democracy..."

"...While Trump might fantasize about canceling the election, the reality is that the election system is already changing in some key ways..."

"...Some of them may be enormously consequential..."

"...The redistricting war Trump kicked off continues to rage..."

"...Republicans have drawn themselves nine more friendly seats across the country..."

"...Democrats have ended up with six, mostly in California..."

"...If the Supreme Court decides to further gut the Voting Rights Act, Republicans could in theory redraw maps in many other states..."

"...Expect a very different House in the near future..."

"...The long-term result of more and more political gerrymandering without protections for racial minority-focused districts could be the smothering of minority-party delegations in multiple states..."

"...Trump wants vastly more control over how states conduct elections..."

"...Trump's goal is to exert more executive control over elections that are supposed to be governed by Congress and states..."

"...Trump has chipped away at election oversight..."

"...His Justice Department has rewired the agency's Civil Rights Division away from its original core mission of civil rights abuses, including those related to elections..."

"...Trump's administration has already tried to change how people vote through executive action, and who they vote for through changing maps..."

"...There's a lot of time for more gaming the system between now and November, and Trump clearly already has the midterms on the brain..."