President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will respect the results of the midterm elections as long as they are “honest,” as critics have raised concerns about whether he would accept the results if a “blue wave” sweeps across the United States on November 3. Trump was pressed by a reporter on whether he would accept the results of the midterms “whatever happens,” to which the president said, “I will, if they’re honest elections.” His comments come only one week until Election Day, as Democrats appear well-positioned to take back control of the House and appear competitive in the battle for Senate control. Democrats held an 8-point lead among likely voters on the generic ballot in a new Marist University poll, conducted among 1,289 registered voters from October 19 to 20.
Critics of Trump have long raised questions about whether he would respect the outcome of the midterms, pointing to his conduct after he lost the 2020 election, which he has said was stolen via widespread voter fraud, despite recounts and audits upholding its integrity. Legal experts told Newsweek on Tuesday they see risk that the administration could take steps to intervene in the election results after the midterms. He berated and criticized Vice President Pence for following his moral compass and the Constitution.
The sky is the limit, and they will use their fertile imagination to take whatever action they think appropriate,” Gene Rossi, a former federal prosecutor, told Newsweek. Concerns have mounted about the potential for the Justice Department to get involved in the elections, whether Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act or pressure members of Congress to try to reject certification of new members. However, Neama Rahmani, also a former federal prosecutor, told Newsweek that he doubts any of those efforts would succeed.
Anyone who illegally votes in our elections will be held accountable,” Bis said. While administration officials say tougher enforcement is needed to protect elections, documented cases of noncitizen voting have historically been rare. A review found the conservative Heritage Foundation had recorded 24 instances of noncitizen voting in U.S. elections between 2003 and 2023.
Some Democratic election officials have voiced concerns about possible election interference. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows told The New York Times that she feels the federal government is “adversarial to the states.” “This is the first time ever that we have had to engage in scenario planning to safeguard against potential federal interference in elections,” she told the publication. The Department of Justice (DOJ) could get involved in intervening in the midterms, according to Rossi.
Rossi said he is doubtful those lawsuits would be successful, but there is a possibility they could be filed. Attorney General Todd Blanche said in remarks to reporters that the DOJ could intervene in the elections in a “doomsday scenario.” “Is there any scenario? Yes, of course, there’s scenarios that we could all come up with hypothetically, some doomsday scenario, for example,” he said.
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