Amid his administration’s push to root out voter fraud, President Donald Trump told reporters he would respect the result of the midterm elections on Nov. 3—“if they’re honest.”
The president was asked on Tuesday whether he would work with Democrats if they win in Congress and, later, during a press gaggle at Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews before he left for a Texas campaign trip, if he would respect the results of the midterms.
“I will, if they’re honest elections,” Trump said.
On working with Democrats, he said, “We’ll figure a way. Look, I have a strong veto. I hope that that won’t be the case, but if it is, that’s happened before with many presidents.”
The comments came as Trump said he would give $1 million to anyone who reported voter fraud that leads to an arrest and conviction, as his administration has taken an increasingly aggressive approach to election oversight. In one example, the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked states for voter-registration data and argued that stricter measures are needed to ensure public confidence in the vote.
“Anybody reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid $1,000,000 upon the arrest and conviction of those that created the Fraud,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday, later echoing those remarks in a press event with reporters.
The DOJ has recently announced the arrest of dozens of noncitizens, accusing them of voting or fraudulently registering to vote in U.S. elections. In another announcement, the department said it arrested six noncitizens for voting in elections.
Recently, the DOJ filed a lawsuit that would hold the certification of the election if Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) loses his reelection bid, accusing another candidate in the race, Dan J. Sullivan, an independent, of running to intentionally confuse potential voters.
Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the lawsuit on Sunday amid questioning from a CNN anchor, saying Trump has said “this is not fair” because there is an individual who is on the Alaska ballot with the “same name as the incumbent senator, who happens to be a Republican.”
“There could be a crime. But the real wrong here is that Alaskans are going to be confused and will not have their vote heard.”
On Monday, a panel on the U.S. Appeals Court for the Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 to deny a request to block California from counting mail ballots from people on a list of more than 20,000 registered voters the federal government alleges are likely noncitizens.
The majority decision said the DOJ had failed to give a lower court judge an adequate opportunity to consider the case, and it was therefore premature for the appeals court to weigh in. The lower court judge has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday.
Justice Department officials said on Oct. 19 that the 20,000 people included 28 individuals who had been criminally charged with illegally voting.
Aside from Congress, 36 gubernatorial races are being held next Tuesday. State legislatures will also hold elections.
Trump has embarked on a multi-state, campaign-style series of rallies to boost Republican candidates, saying that voters should act as if he were on the ballot. He’s slated to hold two rallies in Texas on Tuesday—one in Corpus Christi and the other in Lubbock.
The GOP currently holds a small majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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