President Donald Trump addressed the issue of canceling the election in a wide-ranging speech on January 6 while also dismissing the prospect.
He spoke at the newly dubbed “Trump-Kennedy Center” for House Republicans, encouraging lawmakers to campaign around his priorities to maintain control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections. He expressed bewilderment at the public’s poor evaluation of his job performance, saying Republicans have “the right policies.”
He repeatedly addressed tariffs in his speech, saying, “If the president gets the wrong one, there’s no good that’s going to come of it.”
“We’ve found this out over four years…their policies are the worst and we even have to compete with these people,” he said. “I’m not going to say ‘Cancel the election, they should cancel the election,’ because the fake news will say ‘He wants the election cancelled, he’s a dictator.'” They always call me a dictator. “
Trump and the Midterm Blues: Can he get MAGA voters excited (and voting) in 2026?
Trump says Republicans need to win so he doesn’t get impeached
Republicans currently hold majorities in both chambers, but that majority is shrinking due to the departure of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and unexpected emergencies from other Republican members.
The president’s party regularly loses in midterm elections, although Trump bucked that trend with his defiant speeches. His political future, he says, depends on it.
“You have to win the midterms,” Trump said. “If we don’t win the midterms, they’re going to find grounds to impeach me.”
Trump was impeached twice by House Democrats during his first term, and the Senate acquitted him both times.
Who votes in the midterm elections?
All House representatives and one-third of the Senate are up for re-election on November 3, 2026, when various local and state elections will also be held. This means that any eligible U.S. citizen can vote in the midterm elections.
Voter turnout in midterm elections is typically lower compared to presidential election years. However, turnout in the 2018 midterm elections during Trump’s first term soared to 53.4%, according to Census Bureau data. In 2022, the turnout was 52.2%. In comparison, the turnout in the 2020 presidential election was 66.8%, a record high.
According to Reuters, older voters are more likely to vote in non-presidential terms and more likely to vote Republican. Data from the Pew Research Center shows that in the 2018 and 2022 midterm elections, white voters and college-educated voters made up a larger share of the electorate than non-voters.
Contributors: Bart Jansen, Zachary Schermele, USA Today
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Wire correspondent for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. follow her X (Twitter), blue sky and Tik Tok.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Did Trump say ‘cancel the election?’ No, he said he wouldn’t say that