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President Donald Trump was brutally mocked on Saturday Night Live ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, as over 50 million Americans have already voted early, outpacing the 2022 midterm early-voting turnout rate.
Trump is set to make appearances rallying for GOP candidates in Kansas and Iowa Sunday, following a day of virtual rallies on Saturday.
Both rallies were initially cancelled in favor of tele-rallies, but were later added back to the president’s schedule.
Trump will support GOP Sen. Roger Marshall, who is facing a close race with Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton in Kansas. In Iowa, Trump will be supporting Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is running against Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek in the race to succeed GOP Sen. Joni Ernst.
The president’s long-standing electoral strategy of telling his MAGA base to pretend he is on the ballot was criticized Saturday by Republican strategist Karl Rove, who questioned the strategy given Trump’s historically low approval ratings.
“The president says, ‘pretend I’m on the ballot,’” Rove said Saturday on The Journal Editorial Report. “With an approval rating in the mid-30s, pretending that he’s on the ballot appeals to the people who are already strongly in his corner and likely to turn out.”
Alaska GOP Sen. says duplicate candidate plot shows opponent’s ‘disdain’ toward Alaskans
Alaska GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan slammed his Democratic opponent Mary Peltola’s campaign over its alleged involvement in recruiting another man named Dan Sullivan to also run for Senate.
Sullivan declined to tell CNN whether he thought the alleged actions of Peltola’s campaign were a crime, which other Republicans have suggested.
“I’ll let the lawyers figure that out,” Sullivan told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Saturday.
(Getty)
“Whether or not this is legal or not, and I think you know there’s some good arguments on both sides… the key thing I’m focused on is looking at Peltola and her team — and the Democrats in DC, and how they treat Alaskans with disdain.”
Isabel Keane1 November 2026 17:45
Trump says defeated Brazilian presidential candidate can stay in the U.S.
President Donald Trump said Saturday that defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro can stay in the United States.
(Getty)
“He can stay here as long as he wants,” Trump told reporters Saturday during his Mar-a-Lago Halloween party.
Bolsonaro left Brazil after losing the election to leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“In my opinion, the election was a disgrace.”
Isabel Keane1 November 2026 17:15
More than 50 million Americans participate in early voting
More than 50 million Americans have cast their ballots early ahead of Election Day Tuesday.
The pace of early voting is higher than during the last midterm in 2022, according to the University of Florida Election Lab, suggesting interest in congressional and state elections, even though a president isn’t being elected this year.
Isabel Keane1 November 2026 16:35
Trump mocks journalist for asking question about war in Iran
President Donald Trump snapped at a reporter for asking a question he didn’t like during his Mar-a-Lago Halloween party.
Speaking with members of the press during the jungle-themed event, Trump was asked if he expected to go back to war with Iran this week.
After having to have part of the question repeated amid the loud party, Trump, 80, snapped.
“Why would you ask such a stupid question?” he responded, noting the reporter works for The New York Times, and adding, “New York Times. OK, let’s say I did. Would I tell you?”
(Getty)
He then repeated mockingly, “Would I tell you? Let’s say I did, would I tell you?”
Isabel Keane1 November 2026 15:50
President Trump set to rally with GOP candidates
President Donald Trump will rally with GOP candidates in Iowa and Kansas on Sunday, ahead of the midterm elections.
Both rallies were initially cancelled in favor of tele-rallies, but were later added back to the president’s schedule.
In Kansas, Trump will rally with GOP Sen. Roger Marshall, who faces Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton.
In Iowa, Trump will be supporting Republican Rep.. Ashley Hinson, who is running against Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek in the race to succeed GOP Sen. Joni Ernst.
Isabel Keane1 November 2026 15:29
SNL’s Trump crashes cold open with midterms prediction
James Austin Johnson, portraying President Trump, crashed the latest Saturday Night Live cold open to discuss the upcoming midterm elections.
“Midterms, boo!” Johnson says as Trump, interjecting into the Halloween-themed cold open.
“The midterms are on Tuesday, and the polls say we’re doing very badly,” he says. “They’re saying Texas is turning purple, just like my hand. And if it goes blue, just like my hand, I wanna leave it for dead.”
Current polling data predicts Democrats will take back the House of Representatives, and potentially make significant gains in the Senate as well, come Election Day on Tuesday.
SNL’s Trump continued to highlight the crucial race in Texas, telling the audience that they “gotta vote for that awful Ken Paxton,” who is the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in the state.
“I hate Ken Paxton, but you gotta vote for him, because we can’t have this Talafreako,” he said, referring to Democratic candidate James Talarico. He then added, “Who is, frankly, much better looking. And wow, what a dynamite ass on Talafreaka.”
Isabel Keane1 November 2026 14:45
Republican strategist criticizes Trump’s electoral strategy
Republican strategist Karl Rove slammed President Donald Trump’s electoral strategy in a Fox News appearance Saturday, just days before the midterms.
Rove, who was a senior aide to former President George W. Bush, criticized Trump for telling his MAGA base to pretend he is on the ballot.
“The president says, ‘pretend I’m on the ballot,’” Rove said Saturday on The Journal Editorial Report.
(AFP via Getty Images)
“With an approval rating in the mid-30s, pretending that he’s on the ballot appeals to the people who are already strongly in his corner and likely to turn out.”
Trump’s approval rating has hit historic lows in recent months as the war in Iran and high cost of living remain key concerns of many Americans.
Isabel Keane1 November 2026 13:49
The latest: Trump claims Alaska voters need ‘190 IQ’ to understand their ballot as DOJ ratchets up case against the state
Alaska officials are challenging the Trump administration’s attempts to seize its elections and prevent certification of the state’s Senate results unless the incumbent Republican wins.
In a court filing this weekend seeking dismissal of the Justice Department’s lawsuit, they described the attempt to pre-empt election certification as “both disturbing and impossible.”
Trump has claimed that most voters in Alaska don’t know what the word “incumbent” means and that “you need about a 190 IQ to figure out the ballot.”
Brendan Rascius1 November 2026 12:45
House minority leader says Democrats plan to run Hegseth ‘out of town’
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Saturday that Democrats will run Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “out of town” if his party retakes control of the House following the midterm elections.
It has previously been reported that Democrats are eyeing an impeachment effort against Hegseth, who has played a key role in the ongoing and unpopular Iran war.
Brendan Rascius1 November 2026 11:25
Gas prices remain elevated ahead of Election Day
With the midterms just three days away, gas prices remain elevated.
On Saturday, the average national average cost for a gallon of gasoline stood at $4.18, up from $2.98 two days before the Iran war broke out in late February, according to AAA.
The average price for a gallon of diesel was $6.31, nearly double what it was one year ago.
According to a Politico survey released earlier this month, most U.S. voters would not be more inclined to vote Republican even if gas prices fell sharply or the Iran war came to an abrupt end.
Brendan Rascius1 November 2026 09:10