Trump Tells Reuters ‘We Shouldn’t Even Have an Election’ Ahead of Midterms

AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

President Donald Trump mused that “we shouldn’t even have an election” in an interview with Reuters published on Thursday.

During the sit-down, the president “expressed frustration that his Republican Party could lose control of the U.S. House of Representatives or the Senate in this year’s midterm elections.” Trump noted that president’s party often takes some midterm losses after a presidential victory.

“It’s some deep psychological thing, but when you win the presidency, you don’t win the midterms,” he said.

Reuters then noted that Trump expressed that his administration had accomplished so much already that “when you think of it, we shouldn’t even have an election.”

Trump also spoke to the outlet about a number of other topics, including his desire to absorb Greenland, ongoing protests in Iran, and more.

The president previously promised anti-government protesters in Iran that “help” was on the way amid reports of authorities killing thousands of demonstrators. Speaking to reporters this week, Trump suggested the killing was “stopping,” leading to backlash among his own party members.

Trump was “noncommittal” in his Reuters interview about future plans regarding Iran.

“We have to play it day by day,” he said.

Trump also dismissed a Reuters/Ipsos survey that found most Americans do not support his Greenland plan as “fake.” The poll showed only 4% of Americans support the idea of absorbing Greenland. The president argued that he follows his own gut instincts on issues like Greenland and other moves that have received pushback, including a criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

“A lot of times, you can’t convince a voter,” he said. “You have to just do what’s right. And then a lot of the things I did were not really politically popular. They turned out to be when it worked out so well.”