At his last public appearance before the midterms, Trump praised his government record so far. "I've kept every single promise I've made - and then some. In fact, I've kept far more promises than I ever made. We've done far more than I promised," Trump said at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington. The president also described the congressional elections as the most important midterm elections “of our lifetime.”
The gap between Democrats and Republicans is narrowing shortly before the US congressional elections. According to a survey completed on Monday by the Reuters news agency and the Ipsos Institute, around 46 percent of registered voters want to vote for the Democrats, while 38 percent prefer the Republicans.
The lead of eight percentage points is smaller than the previous week, when the Democrats still led by eleven points. Many voters see their decision in the House of Representatives and Senate elections as a vote against US President Donald Trump: around 50 percent of registered independent voters said their vote was against the president. In contrast, 13 percent wanted to support Trump, while 33 percent said he played no role in the election decision.
According to the survey, Trump's approval ratings remain near a record low. 32 percent of those surveyed said they were satisfied with his work in the White House. This value remained unchanged compared to the previous week and was just above the low of 31 percent two weeks ago. While the national survey reflects the general mood, it does not capture the specifics of individual states and electoral districts. The institute surveyed 1,765 adults in the USA for the online survey. The margin of error is two percentage points.
US President Donald Trump is not planning any public appearances on the day of the midterm elections. According to his calendar published by the White House, several closed meetings are scheduled. This includes a conversation with the US Ambassador to Portugal, John Joseph Arrigo. A reception is planned for election night in the East Room of the White House. According to the calendar, the event will take place behind closed doors to the public and the press. Whether it stays that way, however, could depend on the Republicans' performance and how the count goes.
An appointment for signing documents is scheduled during the day. Trump usually signs executive orders, proclamations and laws passed by Congress. This date is also not open to the press. However, Trump often invites journalists to the Oval Office on such occasions.
The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected an emergency request from President Donald Trump's administration to temporarily stop the counting of 20,000 postal votes in California. Federal officials said the registered voters were likely not U.S. citizens. The justices rejected the Justice Department's request just hours after it was filed. The court's brief, one-sentence order provided no reasoning. This is common when dealing with urgent applications. In addition, none of the judges publicly expressed a dissenting opinion. A federal appeals court had already rejected a corresponding request from the Trump administration on Friday.
The decision is a defeat for Trump on the eve of the crucial midterm elections in which his Republicans are fighting for the majority in Congress. California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, called the decision "a welcome sign for all Americans in the face of the federal government's outrageous and dangerous attacks on our democracy." The Trump administration had increased its focus in the run-up to the election on alleged voting by non-citizens. However, several studies show that this is rare.
After US President Donald Trump recently indicated that he would attack Iran again after the midterm elections on Tuesday, he is now again talking about a possible agreement with the country.
Asked by reporters whether he would consider attacking Iran after the midterm elections, Trump answered "no" in Washington on Monday. He also believes that Iran wants to reach an agreement and that such an agreement “could come about.”
US Vice President JD Vance said there had been a number of good discussions with Iran. He and Trump are therefore quite confident about the prospects for a possible negotiated solution. “We will continue to work on it.”
US President Donald Trump has described the upcoming congressional elections as the most important since the Second World War. These are “the most important midterm elections of our lifetime,” said the 80-year-old on Monday in Washington during his last personal campaign appearance. Trump called the opposition Democrats “extremists” and warned citizens not to help them win.
Trump, on the other hand, attested to his own excellent record. He ushered in “America’s golden age” and massively increased US economic performance, he said. Pollsters, on the other hand, see the president's approval ratings at an all-time low. Many US citizens blame the high fuel and living costs on him. The reasons include the Iran war and Trump's aggressive tariff policy.
US President Donald Trump makes his final appeal before the midterm elections in front of the renovated water basin near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Trump stood on a platform while the Washington Monument could be seen in the distance.
Signs read “Restoring Our Capitol” and “The Reflecting Pool.” There was a sign behind the lectern with an aerial view of the pool. It read: “Back – and more beautiful than ever!”
The event takes place on a cool, clear fall day in the US capital. Two short rows of seats were set up for government representatives and guests, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. The remaining area was intended for the press.
US rock singer Bruce Springsteen has spoken out in support of the Democratic Senate candidate for Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed. The musician said on Platform X that he was “a fighter for our American Constitution.”
“He is a fighter for our American democracy, and he is a fighter against the corrupt, lawless and anti-American leadership that currently sits in the White House,” Springsteen continued. “That’s why I’m behind him 100%.”
US President Donald Trump has promised current and former employees preemptive pardons if the Democrats win the congressional elections on Tuesday. “I wouldn’t even think about it – I would do it,” Trump said on a New York Post podcast on Monday. The presenter Miranda Devine asked him if he wanted to pardon everyone who worked for him.
In his own words, Trump wants to “protect” allies like Musk. He pointed out that on the first day of his second term in January 2025, he had pardoned hundreds of supporters who had been prosecuted for storming the Capitol in 2021.
In the dispute over postal votes in California, the US government appealed to the Supreme Court one day before the midterm elections. The emergency motion came after an appeals court rejected a request to throw out about 20,000 ballots from people the federal government believes may not be U.S. citizens.
The US government argues that these ballots should not be counted until the status of the people concerned has been verified. California officials consider the list highly unreliable and believe it includes many U.S. citizens.
Lower courts have sided with California. A district court warned that separate counting of ballots would cause chaos in the midterm elections and undermine trust in the democratic process.
Voting has been possible in California since the beginning of October. Hundreds of thousands of ballot papers have already been processed. Election officials say these are completely anonymized and can no longer be traced back to the voters who cast them.
