At a White House event Tuesday morning, Donald Trump didn’t just wag a finger at Democrats — he turned the heat on Republicans he says are standing in the way of their own agenda. The culprit? The Senate filibuster, that procedural relic both parties love to hate… until they need it.
Asked by Reagan Reese whether he was frustrated the GOP hasn’t axed the rule, Trump didn’t sugarcoat it.
“I’m disappointed,” he said flatly. “I like John a lot, but he has a couple of Republicans who are foolish people. A couple of ’em I like, a couple of ’em I can’t stand actually, if you want to know the truth.”
Trump’s argument is simple, and very on-brand: Republicans are tying their own hands while Democrats are just waiting for their turn to break the rules. In his telling, ditching the filibuster isn’t just a power play — it’s survival.
The immediate prize? Pushing through election reforms like the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections — a longtime conservative priority that’s gone nowhere fast under current Senate rules.
“We should have voter ID, we should have proof of citizenship, we should have mail-in voting for the military and people that need it, but not everybody,” Trump argued. Then, in language his critics will pounce on and his base will cheer, he added: “Because anytime you have mail-in voting, they’re going to cheat. And they cheat like dogs.”
Trump also took a swipe at Democrats’ broader platform, arguing their policies are so unpopular they have no choice but to bend the rules to win — pointing specifically to what he called the “transgender mutilation” of children. Mid-rant, he even paused to address the kids standing nearby at the event, cautioning, “Don’t listen to this, kids,” as he pivoted back to politics.
And if Republicans thought they could slow-walk this fight, Trump made it clear he’s not in a patient mood. Just days earlier, he had already fired off a social media broadside urging the GOP to “TERMINATE” the filibuster, warning that Democrats would weaponize it — or scrap it entirely — the second they regain power.
On Tuesday, he doubled down with a stark prediction: if Republicans don’t act now, Democrats “will do it in the first hour back” in control of Congress.
