“I have the ultimate power — it’s called ‘veto,'” President Trump told CBS News in an exclusive phone interview before polls closed across the country in this year’s midterm elections, when asked about the prospect of a Democratic-controlled Congress next year.
Mr. Trump says he is prepared to veto Democratic legislation if necessary, and he welcomes the moniker “Mr. Veto,” in terms of describing his approach to Democrats, should they win a majority in the House or Senate.
Pollsters have been predicting some GOP losses and in late October, CBS News’ polling suggested Republicans could be on track to lose control of the House.
Still, Mr. Trump remained optimistic on Tuesday when asked about the Republican Party’s chances during the phone interview. And he said that regardless of the results and the makeup of Congress next year, he feels confident about his ability to pursue his agenda in the coming two years. He remarked that recent Supreme Court decisions have empowered him and his administration to wield expansive executive powers inside the federal government even if Congress tries to block him.
In the interview, Mr. Trump cited Trump v. Slaughter, a Supreme Court decision from earlier this year that allowed him to fire Rebecca Slaughter, a member of the Federal Trade Commission, and said that 6-to-3 decision enables him to exert sweeping control over many federal agencies, boards and commissions, regardless of who holds majorities in the House and Senate.
“We won the Slaughter case and the Slaughter case gives the president tremendous powers that it never had before,” Mr. Trump said.
The president said that he plans to move forward his agenda next year in numerous federal areas with this ruling as part of the foundation for his coming executive actions.
“The presidency, our presidency, is considered a strong presidency. You can do a lot,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump also believes his veto power could eventually force Democrats to cut bipartisan deals with him, should they make gains.
“Historically, you veto for a couple of months and then they come and say, ‘We’ve got to make a deal,'” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump’s comments signal that there will likely be a dramatic showdown between the executive branch and Congress next year, should Democrats win majorities in each respective chamber, and he asserted that he could ramp up his use of executive power if Democrats try to constrain him on Capitol Hill.
Two people close to Mr. Trump, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations, said discussions over executive actions have taken place at the White House in recent weeks, with deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought central figures in those talks. The range of issues being considered for further executive action includes immigration and trade, the people said.
One person close to the president said that “while Democrats may win power,” Mr. Trump will “keep the power to do almost everything he wants” next year on trade, the border, managing the federal government and handling U.S. foreign policy and national security.
Regarding the midterm elections, Mr. Trump said he believes he did everything he could to help Republicans across the country in recent weeks, and said his efforts helped to recast the elections as a possible blue wave into something more competitive.
“If you remember, about 30, 40 days ago, people were saying it’s going to be a big loss, and now people are talking about, like we could even win it,” Mr. Trump said. “I think the tour made a big difference. I did 29 days, 33 of these things, and they were all massive rallies, they were big rallies. No one has ever done anything like it. And I think we got the word out. I think we got the enthusiasm out, too.”
When asked about his motivation for his extensive tour of campaign stops, Mr. Trump said, “I just think that we’re doing so well that I didn’t want to see anything get in the way of what we’ve done,” and he argued that the passage of last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and his efforts on trade are driving growth in different economic sectors.
The president did not make any firm predictions about Tuesday’s outcome.
“We’ll have to see,” Mr. Trump said, noting that most Election Days come with surprises and unforeseen developments. “Will we win? We have a good chance. But we’re not going to be embarrassed.”
Mr. Trump spent part of Monday delivering a speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., where he talked at length about his push to renovate, clean or rebuild key structures at the White House and around the capital.
In the Tuesday interview, Mr. Trump said his speech was part of his desire to show the American people that he is using skills as a lifelong developer to redevelop Washington for their use.
“Obama criticized me,” Mr. Trump said, referring to former President Barack Obama’s criticism of Mr. Trump’s activity. “But we had broken windows by the front door” at the White House, he said, and “it was such a sad thing to look at.”
“It’s the White House,” Mr. Trump said. “You can’t have an area where the stone is cracked and half-falling off the side of the wall. And I fixed it. You know, I’m very good at that.”
“I actually enjoy doing it,” Mr. Trump said. “A lot of people, that doesn’t relax them, it makes them crazy, but with me, it relaxes me because I really do it well, and the White House is now pristine.”
When asked about what his focus is for 2027, in terms of renovations in and around Washington, the president said he expects to finish the new ballroom at the White House and to begin work on his proposed 250-foot arch, which has faced legal challenges.
“I’ll be finishing that,” Mr. Trump said of the ballroom. “It’s a ballroom and military complex.” As for the arch, “We hopefully will be starting that.”
“It’s a celebration of success,” Mr. Trump said of the planned arch.
“I do that stuff, it’s fun for me, but it’s important,” Mr. Trump said of his many building initiatives, and he framed his projects as a larger attempt to spruce up the country.
“We had 97 places where we had ‘S-G,’ which means ‘serious graffiti,'” Mr. Trump said of his administration’s cleanup of Washington, D.C. “Ninety-seven places, like at the base of the Supreme Court.”
As for his own political future, Mr. Trump said he is not yet talking with his advisers about pursuing a potential 2028 campaign, which would face steep constitutional and legal hurdles, and, for now, said the GOP has a “very good bench” of possible candidates.