Trump Claims He'll Accept Midterm Results 'If They’re Honest' — as Critics Predict Prez Will Only Contest Election If GOP Loses

President Donald Trump has said he will accept the results of the November 3 midterm elections, but only if they are “honest elections.”

His October 27 remarks have drawn renewed scrutiny as Republicans face the possibility of losing control of Congress, and a new poll shows widespread doubts about whether he would accept an unfavorable outcome.

Trump, 80, made the comments while speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews before traveling to Texas to campaign for Republican candidates. He was asked how he would work with Democrats if they took control of the House or Senate.

“We’ll figure a way,” Trump said. “Look, I have strong veto. I hope that that won’t be the case. But if it is, that’s happened before with many presidents and you have strong veto and you end up working out deals.”

When a reporter followed up by asking whether he would respect the election results regardless of the outcome, Trump replied, “I will, if they’re honest elections, yes.”

The conditional answer echoes his earlier statements about accepting election results. In 2016, he said he would accept the outcome “if I win.” Before the 2024 election, he said he would accept the results if they were “fair and legal and good,” according to reports.

A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll published October 20 found that 70 percent of Americans lacked confidence that Trump would accept the results if Republicans lost the midterms.

The doubts crossed party lines. The survey found that 94 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of independents were not confident Trump would accept a Republican defeat. Among Republicans, 36 percent expressed the same concern.

However, the poll also found that 60 percent of Americans were confident the elections would be conducted fairly and accurately. That included 70 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of Republicans.

Jonnie Smith, a Tennessee voter who typically votes Republican but opposes Trump, told The Washington Post: “He has to throw dirt on it if it doesn’t come out his way, period.”

Gary Podbielski, a Houston-area voter who said he planned to vote for Democrats, offered a similar prediction: “He’ll fight it.”

The president’s latest remarks follow a Justice Department lawsuit filed in Alaska on October 22 seeking to prevent certification of the state’s Senate election results under certain circumstances if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses narrowly.

The administration argued that voters could be confused by another candidate, Dan J. Sullivan. Trump confirmed that he directed the department to file the lawsuit. Alaska’s Supreme Court had previously ordered that the challenger remain on the ballot.

The lawsuit has drawn criticism because it seeks to address a possible election outcome before votes are counted.

On Monday, October 26, Trump announced a $1million reward for information about voter fraud.

“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!” he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump did not explain where the money would come from or how the reward program would work. NBC News also noted that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in U.S. elections.