WASHINGTON (The Thursday Times) — US President Donald Trump said he would become “Mr Veto” if Democrats win control of Congress, as both parties made their last push on Monday before Tuesday’s midterm elections.
“It wouldn’t be the first time [we] have a president and he doesn’t have the Senate. They set stuff up, you veto it. After a month or two of getting things vetoed, they come over, and you make a deal,” he said in a podcast interview.
Trump was due to deliver his closing message at 2pm Washington time, midnight in Pakistan, at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. He has staged more than 25 rallies in mostly conservative areas in the past month, and had called Sunday’s rally in Kansas the “last stop” of his campaign tour.
The venue is an awkward one. His renovation of the landmark ran nearly three months late and cost more than 10 times the first budget, and its blue liner began to peel after he declared the work finished.
Where the candidates are on the last day
Vice President JD Vance began the day at a rally in Rome, New York, for House candidates including Anthony Constantino, who is running for the seat being vacated by Elise Stefanik, in a race polls suggest could be close despite the Republican registration advantage there.
In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed had stops in Ypsilanti, Flint and Royal Oak before a final rally in Detroit. In Texas, Democrats James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa, running for Senate and governor, were to hold a joint rally in Austin, while Republican Ken Paxton had events in Conroe and Allen. Polls show Talarico narrowly ahead.
Troy Jackson was campaigning across southern Maine, Josh Turek across western Iowa, and Adam Hamilton in Wichita, Topeka and Lawrence in Kansas, all in races that could decide the Senate.
A fight over ICE at polling places
A federal judge in Washington was also due to hear a lawsuit on Monday over whether immigration agents can be present at polling places. Voting and civil rights groups and the city and county of Denver are challenging the administration’s position that armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents may enter polling places for enforcement, arguing that it would break a federal limit on armed personnel at the polls and could intimidate voters.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in September that agents would not patrol polling sites but could enter to respond to threats or serve warrants. His department says ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations. Separately, the Justice Department is heading to the Supreme Court over California ballots.
