The midterm U.S. elections are Tuesday, November 3, 2026 but you can vote early.
On Sept. 28, about five weeks before Election Day, President Donald Trump sat down for an interview with TIME in the White House.
TIME has published the transcript of that conversation. Below is a sample of one of Trump’s statements from the interview:
What Trump Said: “I won all seven swing states. They said if you won three swing states, I won all seven. I won the counties. It’s very important, 86% popular vote.”
The Facts: Trump did win the popular vote in the 2024 presidential election, and he did win all seven swing states, but he’s conflating two figures. He won the popular vote by receiving 49.8% of the vote to Kamala Harris’ 48.3%. He won the electoral college by 86 votes, 312 to Harris’s 226. He did not win all of the counties in the seven swing states, but he surprised many pundits by winning counties in the Detroit, Milwaukee and Philadelphia metro areas.
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In other words, Trump lied. And he did not win by a landslide. It was a close election. Since when is a popular vote of 49 percent vs. 48 percent not close? Fun facts: Trump lost the 2020 election and the 2024 election was close.
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“The reality is that many people around the world look to American elections as models of freedom, fairness, and verified accuracy. While other countries’ elections can at times be more unstable, the American system has always held firm due to its systems of checks and balances. After an election, various people or a political party might challenge the results, which they have every right to do. But our system requires that a challenge be based on facts and on the law. One can’t simply say someone won when the proof shows otherwise. During this era of attacks on our electoral system, we’ll get through by working to improve procedures where needed and by taking the time to learn how American elections work and why they are trustworthy. It is time to choose truth over clickbait, proof over accusations, people over politics, and country over party.”
— American Bar Association
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#vote
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