Donald Trump Gripes About 2026 Midterms, Saying, ‘When You Think of It, We Shouldn’t Even Have an Election’

With Republicans staring down the possibility of losing their grip on Congress, President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. should simply skip the next midterm elections.

Trump, 79, made the comments in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Jan. 14, as he responded to fresh polling and shifting political terrain. The Lincoln Project reported this week that 18 House races have recently moved in Democrats’ direction, and control of the Senate is widely viewed as competitive heading into 2026.

“It’s some deep psychological thing, but when you win the presidency, you don’t win the midterms,” Trump said.

He then went further, arguing his second term had started so successfully that the country shouldn’t even bother with another election.

White House Says Trump Was “Joking”

A day later, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to soften the impact of the remark. Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Jan. 15, Leavitt said she was present during Trump’s Reuters interview — which she noted was not recorded — and insisted he was being sarcastic.

“He was saying, ‘We’re doing such a great job, we’re doing everything the American people thought. Maybe we should just keep rolling,’ ” she said, adding that Trump was “speaking facetiously.”

Trump Defends Economy, Brushes Off Price Concerns

During the interview, Trump also claimed the U.S. economy was the strongest “in history,” while pushing back on questions about voter frustration over high prices.

“A lot of times, you can’t convince a voter,” he said. “You have to just do what’s right. And then a lot of the things I did were not really politically popular. They turned out to be when it worked out so well.”

A Familiar Pattern: Talk of Extending His Time in Office

Trump’s midterm comment fits with a longer-running theme in his public messaging: repeatedly entertaining the idea of staying in power beyond the traditional limits.

Even though the Constitution bars a president from being elected more than twice, Trump has floated the possibility of a third term on multiple occasions. He has also promoted “TRUMP 2028” merchandise early in his second term, signaling that the idea remains part of the political conversation around him.

In a March 2025 interview with NBC News, he said he was “not joking” about considering another term — even though he would be the oldest president in U.S. history by the time his second term ends in January 2029.

“A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump said at the time. “I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.”

Bannon Predicts a 2028 Return Plan

Some of Trump’s closest allies have openly embraced the third-term push, including Steve Bannon.

In an October 2025 interview with The Economist, Trump’s former chief strategist claimed Trump would return again in 2028.

“He’s gonna get a third term,” Bannon said. “Trump is gonna be president in ’28, and people just sort of [need to] get accommodated with that.”

When asked about the 22nd Amendment — which prevents candidates from being “elected to the office of the President more than twice,” — Bannon suggested there are workarounds supporters could pursue. Those ideas have included attempting to amend the Constitution — a steep lift requiring broad national support — or having JD Vance run for president and then resign, allowing Trump to assume power.

“There’s many different alternatives. At the appropriate time, we’ll lay out what the plan is, but there’s a plan,” Bannon said. “We need him for at least one more term, right? And he’ll get that in ’28.”

He added, “We had longer odds in ’16 and longer odds in ’24 than we’ve got in ’28. We have to finish what we started.”