Trump Says He Will Accept Midterm Results and Work With Democrats, While Warning He Will Veto Bills He Opposes

President Donald Trump said he would accept the results of the 2026 midterm elections and work with Democrats after they won control of both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, while warning that he would veto bills he opposes.

In an interview with The New York Times on Tuesday night, Trump said he was “absolutely willing to accept those results” and that he was prepared to work with Democrats, according to People and Mandatory, which reported on the interviews. “We’ll, you know, look forward to working with them,” Trump said. “We’ll probably work something out.”

Trump also told CBS News, “Congratulations to the Democrats, and I look forward to working with you for the good of our country,” Mandatory reported. In the same remarks, he said he “wasn’t on the ballot, and there was nothing that could be done about that,” and added, “If I was, we would have won.”

Acceptance, with a veto warning

Trump named the debt ceiling as one possible area of cooperation and said Democrats had already approached him about working together, though he did not name them, Mandatory reported. He also set a limit on that cooperation. “I have total veto power, so they have to come to us,” he told The New York Times, according to Mandatory.

He used similar terms with The Wall Street Journal. “I think we’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll get along very well with them. If we don’t, we’ll be very tough on them, they’ll be very tough on us,” he said, according to People, adding that he would use his “veto power” if he felt the need.

What Trump said about the losses

As results came in on Tuesday evening, Trump posted on Truth Social: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.” He later promised to become a “Political Pundit, both good and bad, on the reasons these Candidates won and lost!” according to Mandatory.

On Fox News, Trump said voters “didn’t like the candidates,” while crediting Democrats for doing “a good job” and saying they “fought hard,” Mandatory reported. Democrats flipped Senate seats in Texas, South Carolina and Kansas, among other races, according to Mandatory.

Asked by The Wall Street Journal whether the war in Iran had hurt his party, Trump said it was “a piece of it,” but said he did not regret the decision. “I don’t think about it. I did the right thing. I would have done it again,” he said, according to People.

The day before the election, Trump had told the New York Post’s podcast that he was prepared to use preemptive pardons to protect his staff and allies if Democrats took control of Congress, People reported. “I would if I needed to. Sure,” he said. “We’ll have to protect them.”

Reporting based on coverage by People and Mandatory.