Trump Pulls Out the Veto Card Just a Day After Acknowledging Defeat

With the Republican Party losing the midterm elections (congressional elections held midway through a president's term) and the Senate falling to the Democrats, President Trump posted a photo on social media of a hat emblazoned with 'VETO' (the president's power to ultimately block legislation passed by Congress) just one day after announcing he would accept the results. The post is seen as a message of defiance against the Democrat-controlled Congress.

The day before the election on November 2, he confidently predicted victory, saying his party would win big "if a substantial number of our supporters turn out to vote," while also hinting at the possibility of defeat, remarking that "for some reason, a sitting president can't win the midterms." As the results confirmed a landslide loss, attendees watching the vote count at the White House said the mood "felt like a funeral."

Around 10:30 that night, President Trump said he would fully accept the election results. Yet on social media, he made a different claim, saying he would have won in a landslide "if I had been on the ballot" — in effect, blaming the loss on his not being a candidate himself.

President Trump blamed Fox News for the defeat, saying it had hosted too many Democratic figures. But past midnight, in an interview with the same Fox News, he changed his tone. Congratulating the Democrats on their victory, saying "they did a good job, they fought really hard," he nonetheless drew a line, insisting the outcome was not his defeat.