Newsom calls Election Day a 'verdict on the most corrupt president' as Trump vows to become 'Mr. Veto'

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, wrote on X at 17:17 GMT on Monday 2 November: “Tomorrow, we deliver the verdict on the most corrupt president in America history.”

President Donald Trump said in an interview published the same day that he would use his veto if Democrats win control of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

Trump on vetoes. Asked by the New York Post’s Miranda Devine on the “Pod Force One” podcast how he would deal with Democrats if they take Congress, Trump said: “Well, if that happens, I guess I’ll become Mr. Veto. I’m not going to let them through.” He added: “And then at some point, we’ll probably make deals.” The Hill reported that he said Democrats “will be sending stuff up” and “You veto it,” and that he hoped he would not “have to worry about them.” Trump also said of the polls, “I think they’re rigged.” USA Today reported that he said he would consider pre-emptive pardons for Elon Musk and others if needed: “I would if I needed to, sure. I wouldn’t even think about it. I did it for J6.”

Newsom and the Justice Department. Newsom’s press office posted at 17:05 GMT that when asked about a Justice Department lawsuit over California ballots, he replied: “Which one? The one that’s been thrown out three times by three federal judges in as many days? … It gives the Keystone Cops a good name.” At 18:41 GMT it said: “Trump and his administration have never understood what ‘NO’ means.”

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said at 17:34 GMT that California “has refused to work with the Federal Government to protect against noncitizen voting” and that the department had asked the Supreme Court to require the state to segregate mail ballots tied to more than 20,000 people it calls likely noncitizens. California said it already has safeguards to protect election integrity and called the process used to create the list “highly suspect,” USA Today reported. Earlier, at 15:31 GMT, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote that “So-called Attorney General Todd Blanche and the political hacks at the Justice Department are out of control.” More: Justice Department asks Supreme Court to set aside California mail ballots.

USA Today cited the New York Times poll tracker, which put Trump’s approval at 36%. More than 54 million Americans had voted early, according to the University of Florida Election Lab, and NBC News’s tracker counted more than 56 million.