Trump Vows Veto Wall and Floats Pardons for Allies if Democrats Win Congress

By Kacee Allen Network News Desk.

Editor’s note: The News Desk checked the President’s remarks against the New York Post’s two reports on the “Pod Force One” interview and the episode’s published notes, and compared them with coverage from Mediaite, USA Today, Axios, People and Bloomberg Government. Kentucky race details come from the Lexington Herald-Leader and WVXU. Quotes are as those outlets transcribed them; the Network did not listen to a separate recording, interview anyone or contact the White House for this report. The analysis section is the Network’s own.

One day before Tuesday’s midterm elections, President Trump laid out his plan for a Congress run by the other party: block what it passes and wait for a deal. In the same interview he said he would be willing to use pardons to shield people around him from Democratic investigations.

The veto plan

Trump made the remarks to New York Post columnist Miranda Devine in an episode of her “Pod Force One” podcast released Monday morning. Asked what happens if Democrats win the House and Senate, he answered, “I’ll become Mr. Veto,” according to a transcript published by Mediaite.

He described a cycle in which Congress sends him bills, he rejects them, and lawmakers eventually come to the table. “You veto it, and eventually, after a month or two of getting all vetoed, they’re just wasting [time], they come over and you make a deal,” he said. The Post quoted him adding, “I’m not going to let them ruin it.” He also said he expects Republicans to do well and called polls showing Democratic gains “rigged.”

Pardons and Musk

Devine raised talk among Democrats of investigating Elon Musk, seizing his assets and nationalizing SpaceX, as well as pursuing former DOGE staffer Edward Coristine. Trump replied, “It’s talk, but if it is talk, we’ll have to protect them.”

When Devine asked whether that could mean preemptive pardons, Trump pointed to former President Joe Biden’s final-day pardons. Asked if he would do the same for people who worked for him, he said, “I would if I needed to. Sure,” and added, “I did it for J6,” a reference to the roughly 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants he pardoned in 2025. Asked whether he was a target himself, he said, “Well, I don’t know about me.”

Trump’s words on Musk were a pledge to “protect” him; outlets including USA Today and Bloomberg Government read the exchange as covering possible pardons for Musk. The Post noted that a federal pardon does not block state charges, civil suits or impeachment.

The remarks follow comments from Democrats about oversight next year. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland has promised to examine what he calls corruption in the administration, and Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said last month that a Democratic majority should bring “signature cases” against people who enable the President.

Analysis: what a veto standoff would look like

A veto strategy only works if Democrats lack the votes to overturn it. The Constitution requires two-thirds of both chambers to override a veto. That means 67 senators and 290 House members when every seat is filled and every member votes. Neither party has held margins that large in decades, so any override would almost certainly need Republican votes. In practice, a divided government under this plan would likely run through negotiation or gridlock, with must-pass items such as government funding as the main pressure points.

Kentucky voters will help decide that balance. The state is filling Mitch McConnell’s Senate seat for the first time in four decades, with Trump-endorsed Rep. Andy Barr facing Democrat Charles Booker, who has been endorsed by former President Barack Obama. In the 4th District, Rep. Thomas Massie, one of the few Republicans who often broke with Trump, will not be on the ballot after losing his May primary to Trump-backed Ed Gallrein. Gallrein, who faces Democrat Melissa Strange, has pledged to support the President’s agenda, which would make him a likely vote to sustain vetoes.