Trump says he can stop attacking Democrats, but 'Mr Veto' threat sends a different signal
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has repeatedly signaled that he will exercise his veto power to stop future congressional efforts by Democrats, even if they have a majority in the Senate and House of Representatives.
But in a new interview, Trump expressed willingness to work with Democrats, saying he would stop insulting the opposition party to help make deals.
Trump offers to pause insults to strike deals
As President Trump prepares to proceed in the last two years of his presidency with Republicans in the minority, in an interview, he said that he can work with Democrats without insulting them.
In the interview with '60 Minutes', taped on Friday, November 6, and set to air on Sunday, Trump said he could “very easily” stop attacking Democrats for six months if it helped the two parties reach a deal on policy.
But seconds earlier in a clip released by CBS News, Trump used one of his familiar labels for members of the opposing party.
"I also call many of them 'Dumbocrats,'" Trump said.
Trump recently signaled that he can work with Democrats on issues like immigration and economic development.
In an interview airing Sunday on 60 Minutes, correspondent Ross Douthat asks President Trump: If it took six months of not insulting the Democrats to get a deal done, do you think you could do it? https://t.co/PJO8fLfl6C
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 7, 2026
“I think we can do a lot of things together, actually,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “You know, a lot of them are about common sense, also. And I think you’ll see that.”
Trump touts his veto power as Democrats register landslide victory
For weeks before Democrats’ historic midterm victories, Trump had said that he would refuse to work with them if Republicans lost control of Congress.
"I'll become Mr Veto," he told the New York Post’s Miranda Devine on her podcast 'Pod Force One,' which aired on Monday, the day before Republicans lost at the ballot box.
New media post from Donald J. Trump ( TS: Nov 6 2026, 10:11 PM ET ) https://t.co/NqW5QhC5mn
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) November 7, 2026
However, he later appeared to soften his stance, telling Devine, “And then at some point we’ll probably make deals, that’s what’s happened.”
By Friday, Trump had turned his attention to the Senate, which has been in recess since September 30.
The president also shared a black-and-white image of himself leaning against his desk in the Oval Office on Truth Social, along with his latest moniker.
After the midterm elections, Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress, winning 233 seats in the House and 54 seats in the Senate as of November 4.
Under Article I, Section 7 of the US Constitution, Congress can override a presidential veto, but it requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in both the House (290 votes) and the Senate (67 votes).
