Trump: I'll become 'Mr. Veto' if Dems win Congress

[0:00] We also did here. He did an interview. It was taped on Friday, but released today with a podcast from The New York Post. [0:06] And he talked about what would happen if Republicans don't win, if they lose not only the House, but also potentially the Senate. [0:13] He said he would become, Kate, Mr. Vito. Listen how he put it. [0:17] Look, if we didn't win, I think we're going to do great. But if we didn't win, I veto everything. I'll be vetoing veto. [0:24] You still be able to do what you do, work with Democrats, even if they do? [0:28] Well, if that happens, I guess I'll become Mr. Vito. I'm not going to let him run. [0:34] And then at some point, we'll probably make deals. That's what's happened. [0:37] I mean, this is this wouldn't be the first time you'll have a president and he won't have the House or the Senate. [0:44] They'll be sending stuff up. You veto it. And eventually, after a month or two of getting all vetoed, you know, it's wasted. [0:50] They just wasted. They come over and you make a deal. [0:53] So, Kate, there you have it. The president kind of laying out what his plans would be should Republicans lose in the midterm elections tomorrow. [1:05] I will say as well, part of the reason President Trump himself has been so invested in these midterms is for that reason. [1:10] Of course, this idea that anything he tries to do in the next two years, his final two years of his second term would be blocked if Democrats win the majority. [1:20] And also, of course, his entire team has an eye on the potential investigations that could come as well should Democrats win. [1:26] So a lot on the line for the president here, even though, despite what he says, he's not actually on the ballot. [1:31] President Trump said in an interview taped on Friday that he will become Mr. Veto if Democrats take control of Congress. [1:39] Is there political gridlock ahead if there is a blue wave? [1:45] Yes, I think that there will be political gridlock, particularly on the domestic front. [1:50] I expect that President Trump is really going to focus more on international affairs and what's happening overseas because there's more latitude and fewer guardrails for a president on foreign affairs. [2:02] But when it comes to the veto threats, I think it's also a negotiation tactic. [2:07] He wants the Democrats, if there is, in fact, that blue wave and they take the House and the Senate, to come to him in the Oval Office and to strike deals. [2:15] He's going to want to get something if they get something. [2:18] And I think if any of this gridlock is overcome, it's going to be as a result of negotiations, not because Donald Trump signs Democratic wishlist items. [2:28] Would it mean the president is ignoring the will of the voters if he goes ahead and vetoes a lot of Democratic past legislation? [2:38] I think it would absolutely be that he, Donald Trump, is ignoring the will of the voters, which is what he's been doing for the past two years, Wolf, [2:47] which is why the Republican Party is in such trouble right now in these midterm elections. [2:52] And to go back to Michigan again, that's why it's so bizarre that Haley Stevens now is supporting someone who she has connected with Donald Trump. [3:02] And they're both essentially turning their backs on the people in Michigan. [3:07] And, you know, Pete's right. This might dissuade some people, some people in the Jewish community, some people in the black community. [3:15] But I think at the end of the day, when you peel back all of the vitriol, what stands is the hurt and the pain that Michiganders are going through in all of these communities [3:27] because Donald Trump and Republicans have completely betrayed them because they have not brought down the cost of groceries, gas and rent, [3:36] because they have not brought down inflation, because they are spending billions on a war in Iran that no one wanted and no one needed, [3:42] instead of focusing on bringing down costs for families. [3:46] And by the way, when this happened yesterday, Abdul El-Sayed broke records being able to raise $1.3 million. [3:55] So I think that tells me that he still has a lot of support. [3:59] And I think at the end of the day, it will still be very hard fought, very close. [4:03] But I think Abdul El-Sayed will pull it out because he is focusing on the issues that Michiganders really care about. [4:09] Let's just start with that comment from Donald Trump. [4:11] What does it tell you about his mindset on the Eva? What are these consequential midterms? [4:17] Is he in some sense already admitting defeat? [4:22] I think it does show that he is thinking about the possibility. [4:26] And given the polls we've seen in the last few days, that would seem to be a wise move. [4:33] You know, Trump is always thinking ahead to his next confrontation. [4:36] And it would be an enormous confrontation if Democrats win one or both houses of Congress. [4:44] They would have the ability to launch unprecedented investigations into his administration, [4:50] into his family finances, into all sorts of things that the administration has done, [4:55] including the conduct and the launching of the war in Iran, [5:00] and potentially the funding of that war if it's still going on when the new Congress takes its place at the beginning of January. [5:08] So hugely consequential. [5:10] What Trump said about vetoing and then going back to Congress for deals, [5:15] that is the way it's supposed to happen when you have the presidency held by one party and the Congress held by another. [5:21] How that would work out with a president who has a massively expansive view of presidential power, [5:28] the greatest in modern history, [5:30] and a Democratic Congress that would have been elected to constrain that power, [5:37] is difficult to see how it would work, [5:39] because it's going to be a real toxic situation if that is what happens after the midterm elections. [5:44] He has a speech today, and we are learning that that is meant to focus on his beautification projects, [5:53] let's call them that, around D.C. [5:56] Let's just have a listen to what he said about that. [5:58] ...acting cool on the last day of the campaign. [6:03] Just to show how beautiful it is, it's been finished. [6:07] It was vandalized badly. [6:09] We have cameras all over the place now for the vandals, [6:13] but we're going to be holding, I don't know, we might hold it tomorrow or something, [6:17] but it's finished, it looks beautiful. [6:19] We've been talking, Stephen, for months now about Trump's sort of callousness [6:27] towards the cost-of-living crisis facing Americans and, frankly, the entire world, [6:31] this region where I am incredibly anxious about the prospect of a renewed war after these midterms. [6:38] Do you think Trump is going to take any of that on today? [6:42] I mean, what do you expect him to say just hours from now? [6:47] I don't think there's going to be an awful lot of self-reflection down by the reflecting pool, [6:51] put it that way. [6:52] If you look at Trump's rallies over the last few days, all he's been interested in doing [6:57] is creating this impression that America is in this golden age, that the war in Iran is going very well. [7:04] Last night, for instance, in Iowa, he was talking about if he was president, [7:08] he would have ended the Vietnam War in a week. [7:10] The same with the Afghan war, which lasted 16 years or more. [7:16] You know, this kind of talk really does make you think that he's not on the same plane of reality as everybody else. [7:23] That war he started earlier this year in Iran is still going on. [7:27] And as you say, there are growing concerns, not just in the Middle East, but in Washington, [7:32] that the president plans to resume that as soon as the midterm elections are over. [7:37] What the goal would be is completely unclear, because there's been no strategy really laid out. [7:43] I think what the president is doing, he seems to believe, and this is quite extraordinary if you look at everything that voters are telling candidates in this election, [7:55] that Americans really do think it's very important to have a reflecting pool that looks great. [8:01] I was down there on Saturday. It looks nice, but it's, you know, it's a monument. [8:05] Most Americans are struggling to put gas in their cars. [8:08] They don't really care about the White House having a great ballroom or a triumphal arch that Trump plans to start building as soon as this week in Washington. [8:18] It's a massive disconnect between what the country is feeling and what Trump thinks they want. [8:24] And if Democrats do do very well in these elections, I think that will be the reason why. [8:31] Trump said, put me on the ballot. It's quite possible on Tuesday voters will do exactly that, and it could not turn out well for him. [8:39] Jessica, when people ask me what's going to happen, like friends and family and stuff, I say, there's probably going to be an upset. [8:45] It just said, I don't know where. Do you feel the same way? [8:49] I mean, at this point, I feel like we, if there's an upset outside of these seven, I'm watching South Carolina very closely because that race. [8:56] That's where Darlene Graham is trying to run for her. [8:58] Right. I mean, I've seen Republican polling that is very close there. [9:01] But of these seven, they're certainly trending in Democrats' direction. [9:04] Of the seven, if I was a Republican, I would rather be Ashley Henson in Iowa right now. [9:10] The New York Times poll has that race the closest. [9:12] Kansas was my upset pick way back in July. [9:15] And here now we have, in the New York Times, we have Adam Hamilton leading Roger Marshall. [9:20] Roger Marshall has run just a completely lackluster campaign, and he put out his closing ad that he didn't even run through his consultants. [9:28] What few consultants he has over the weekend. [9:31] When you're explaining, you're losing in politics. [9:33] Oh, do you know anything about this, running an ad that nobody else knows you're running? [9:37] So much of the Roger Marshall campaign is sort of uncharted territory. [9:40] He didn't have a campaign. [9:41] It's not even that he's run a lackluster one. [9:43] That's been more recent. [9:43] He didn't have a campaign operation, essentially. [9:46] Yeah, his Senate staffers were basically running his campaign. [9:50] And so he's had this attack on him. [9:53] The New York Times reported about the medical debt that he was suing patients over. [9:57] And so he filmed his own ad to camera explaining about that and saying, you know, I just had to keep the lights on and everything. [10:04] It's not the type of ad. [10:05] Like, you watch that and you're like, this is not the type of ad that you run if you are ahead or if you are winning. [10:10] And then there was a report. [10:12] I can't remember who was reporting this, but said that he did this without anyone's knowledge and was texting it to journalists and things. [10:19] So it's not on air, but it's making the rounds on social media. [10:23] And when the candidate is going around, like Doug said, what few consultants he has, it's never a good sign when the candidate's going rogue. [10:29] Speaking of looking at these Democrats leading in the polls, there's some familiar faces here to people who have been watching the news for some time. [10:38] James Salrico in Texas, Sherrod Brown in Iowa, I think we've been hearing that name a lot. [10:43] But then some of these other ones, a lot of question marks going into the final days. [10:48] Dr. Abil El-Sayed and Mary Peltola. [10:51] Are Democrats getting too excited? [10:54] Yeah. [10:54] Oh, yeah. [10:55] We love to get excited. [10:56] It's the party of optimism and hope and joy. [10:59] And we're all run by millennials. [11:00] So everyone's like, it's going to work out. [11:02] It's going to be okay. [11:02] Fonts on pillows, we're excited. [11:04] Yes, absolutely. [11:05] Yes, we can. [11:05] So I think a little bit of it is a little bit too excited. [11:08] And then these early voting numbers look really, really incredible. [11:11] So whether- [11:11] Meaning the turnout and the enthusiasm is there. [11:14] Yes, the turnout and enthusiasm is there. [11:15] People are paying attention. [11:16] And I think that's exciting no matter who you're voting for. [11:18] It's nice to see people really participating in the election. [11:21] I think they're getting very excited, but I think cautiously optimistic. [11:24] I mean, we're all there in 2024. [11:25] We were so sure everything was going to work out, and it didn't. [11:28] Nobody wants to feel that way again. [11:29] So there's a little bit of motivation. [11:30] That's why I was asking. [11:31] I mean, I have been on a set where all of a sudden everybody's like, well, not so fast. [11:35] And so many of these districts in the House are red districts. [11:39] But also for the Senate, we're talking about red states. [11:42] Let me just play for you. [11:43] Yeah, they're double-digit states. [11:45] These are still very, very hard. [11:47] And if Republicans come home- [11:47] Double-digit for Trump at one point. [11:49] Double-digit for Trump, exactly. [11:50] And if Republicans come out on Election Day, then they could revert to the mean. [11:54] Think about how crazy it is that we're not talking about Georgia and North Carolina, [11:58] and we are talking about South Carolina. [12:00] Nobody would have predicted that a year ago. [12:02] We're also talking so much about the Senate. [12:03] I just want to get your readout. [12:05] Is it assumed by the Democrats that they're definitely going to take the House, [12:08] or should we be paying more attention there? [12:09] I think it's a fait accompli at this point. [12:12] And the question is just how many seats. [12:14] We're currently projecting between 15 and 25 of the Cook Political Report. [12:17] They need only three. [12:18] So because the House was already so close, you saw Republicans try to manage it with the [12:24] redistricting, which has largely failed. [12:25] Some of those seats in Florida and Texas that they tried to redraw may end up going Democratic now. [12:30] So I would say I think we have it at around a 95 percent chance or something. [12:35] There's still a little bit of uncertainty built into there, but it really does come down to the Senate [12:40] whether Democrats can sweep both into V's point. [12:44] Democrats that I talk to, in my notes the other week, I just wrote anxiety when I was talking with someone. [12:50] It's sort of like, can we have nice things, I think. [12:52] A lot of Democrats are thinking right now, it's like we're seeing these numbers. [12:56] Are they real? [12:56] Are they going to bear out on Election Day? [12:58] Nausciously optimistic is the term I've heard. [13:00] Yes. [13:01] That's a political. [13:02] Defiantly optimistic. [13:02] Yeah, you get charged for that. [13:03] Let me play for you some voters out of Michigan. [13:08] I would say probably like general affordability and security of our country. [13:16] Inflation, gas prices. [13:18] Climate concerns. [13:19] That's probably number one. [13:21] Can you talk to me about what in the end has been surfacing? [13:24] I remember a few years back we had that post-Roe v. Wade election where abortion turned out to be the more salient issue. [13:30] But now we've been seeing glimmers of other things, whether it be inflation or corruption. [13:36] What are the things you're seeing that are making the difference in the toss-ups? [13:39] I think that corruption plays into affordability because I think voters see that this is just a very anti-incumbent, anti-politician election right now. [13:48] They see people in Washington. [13:49] They feel like they're getting ahead and I'm just struggling to make ends meet. [13:52] So those things are connected. [13:54] Right. [13:54] It's that Epstein class. [13:55] They feel like, oh, they were protecting the billion, millionaires and billionaires. [13:58] So you kind of get a little bit of Bernie Sanders populism in there as well. [14:02] But I think it just comes down to it is affordability at the end of the day that people think things cost too much and that gas prices are too high and that Trump made a fundamental mistake when he went into Iran. [14:11] And it's never been able to regain that. [14:14] I mean, I remember talking with Republicans back in the spring and they said, we'll be out of this war. [14:18] And, you know, I said, well, what happens if August, September comes and we're still in it? [14:22] And they're like, well, we don't think that. [14:24] And here we are in November.