Polygraph

28% of Americans are very or somewhat confident that Donald Trump will accept his party's losses in the 2026 election.

Posted by Deadline: White House, Checked

Polygraph verdictTrue
Sources
6 support1 context
Said
1 time·
Confidence
85%
Deadline: White HouseOct 20, 2026
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The ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll (conducted Oct. 9-13, 2026, published Oct. 20) found 28% of Americans very (10%) or somewhat (18%) confident Trump will accept midterm results if Republicans lose, matching the claim as of the claimant's posting date. The claim faithfully reflects the passage, and the poll's figure is consistent across multiple outlets.

This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.

What was said

… I mean, Mark, uhm, it seems like this would be a good time, uhm, for some of those law firms to avenge their capitulation and line up to help voters, uhm, who are subject to false claims. I mean, the public to Heilman's point, uhm the public is 28% are very or somewhat confident that Trump will accept his party's losses. 70% of all Americans, which includes a whole lot of people that voted for Donald Trump the first time, are not at all confident that Trump will accept, uh, Republican losses. …
Deadline: White House · · from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. The ABC/Post/Ipsos poll reports that just 28% of Americans say they are very (10%) or somewhat (18%) confident Trump will accept midterm results if Republicans lose.[2][3]

Supports. Commondreams reports the same poll, conducted October 9-13 among 2,545 US adults, found 28% very or somewhat confident Trump would accept results if Republicans lose, released Oct. 20.[4]

Supports. A later New York Times analysis cites the same survey finding that just 28% of Americans are confident Trump will accept results if Republicans lose.[1]

Supports. Ipsos-based coverage (IBTimes, MundoNow) reports the identical 28% figure, with 10% very and 18% somewhat confident, drawn from the same poll.[5][6]

Context. The poll's 28% figure is a national adult sample with a roughly two-point margin of error; the same poll reports 70% not confident, 36% of Republicans and 77% of independents doubting Trump would accept GOP losses.[6][7]

Sources

7 sources: 1 tier 2, 6 not rated

  1. 1How Donald Trump and his allies are sowing doubt ahead of the midtermsnytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
  2. 2About 6 in 10 Americans confident election will be conducted fairly ...yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: supports
  3. 3About 6 in 10 Americans are confident the election will be ...goodmorningamerica.com · not rated · cited for: supports
  4. 4'Go Vote': Poll Shows 70% of US Voters Doubt Trump Will ...commondreams.org · not rated · cited for: supports
  5. 5Trump Election Results: 70% Doubt He Would Accept GOP Defeatmundonow.com · not rated · cited for: supports
  6. 6Almost 4 in 10 Americans Don't Trust the Integrity of the Upcoming ...ibtimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
  7. 7Poll shows many Americans doubt Trump will accept GOP midterm lossesrmb.reuters.com · not rated · cited for: context

Where this claim was made

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