00:22Donald Trump is already preparing for a political battle inside Washington,
00:27and his message to Democrats is blunt.
00:31If you win control of Congress, get ready for a wall of presidential vetoes.
00:36With the 2026 midterm elections putting Republican control of Congress at risk,
00:42Trump has given himself a new title, Mr. Veto.
00:46In an interview with the New York Post's Pod Force One podcast,
00:51clips of which aired on Fox News,
00:53Trump said that his Democrats take control of the House or the Senate
00:57he would veto their legislation repeatedly.
01:00His warning was clear.
01:02He would veto everything and refuse to let Democrats, in his words, ruin it.
01:08But Trump also described how he expects this strategy to work.
01:12He suggested that repeated vetoes could continue for a month or two,
01:17eventually forcing Democrats to negotiate and reach deals with the White House.
01:21And this is not an entirely unfamiliar situation in American politics.
01:26A president facing an opposition-controlled Congress can use the veto to block legislation.
01:33Overriding that veto, however, requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate.
01:39That makes it extremely difficult for lawmakers to push through legislation without presidential support.
01:45But there is another dimension to Trump's warning.
01:50Reports have pointed to White House preparations for governing through executive actions,
01:55emergency powers, tariffs, and immigration measures,
01:59potentially reducing dependence on Congress.
02:02However, these powers are not unlimited,
02:04and courts can still challenge executive overreach.
02:08So why is Trump making these threats now?
02:11Because the political numbers have been putting Republicans under pressure,
02:16polling and election forecasts ahead of the midterms
02:19show Democrats with a strong advantage in the battle for the House,
02:23while the Senate remained more competitive.
02:26Trump has also acknowledged the historical challenge facing presidents during midterm elections,
02:31when the party occupying the White House often loses congressional seats.
02:36And amid these political pressures,
02:39Trump has raised another controversial question.
02:42Will he accept the election results?
02:45Asked whether he would respect the outcome regardless of who wins,
02:49Trump responded with a condition.
02:52I will, if they're honest, elections.
02:55That statement is significant.
02:58Rather than offering an unconditional commitment to accept the results,
03:02Trump has linked his acceptance to whether he considers the elections honest.
03:06His remarks have revived concerns about election legitimacy,
03:11particularly given his previous challenges to electoral outcomes.
03:15Critics have also pointed to Justice Department activity involving voter rolls,
03:20claims about non-citizen voting,
03:22and legal disputes surrounding election procedures and certifications.
03:27The concern is that questioning the fairness of elections before results are fully established
03:33could create doubts about the outcome itself.
03:36And then came another target, Fox News.
03:40Around election night,
03:42Trump took to Truth Social to attack the network over its coverage, polling, and ratings.
03:47He criticized Fox host Jessica Tarlov, complained about the network's election polling,
03:54and described its surveys as biased against Republicans.
03:57He also claimed Fox News ratings had fallen by 27 percent,
04:02blaming what he described as excessive coverage of anti-Trump Democrats.
04:07Trump further accused Fox's corporate leadership of supporting Democratic and liberal causes.
04:13The criticism is particularly notable because Fox News has traditionally been associated
04:19with conservative audiences and Republican politics.
04:23But Trump's latest attacks suggest that even media organizations
04:27generally viewed as politically sympathetic are not immune from his criticism
04:32when their coverage or polling displeases him.
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