The hosts of “Pod Save America” hailed Democrats’ midterm victories on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Tuesday, describing the results as a possible turning point in the Trump era.
Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor appeared on the ABC program as news organizations projected that Democrats would take control of both chambers of Congress.
Kimmel asked whether the results might lead to firings in President Donald Trump’s administration. Vietor said he wasn’t sure, but saw reason for optimism.
“I think that tonight is the beginning of the end of the Trump era in America,” he said.
Kimmel noted that all four hosts had served in former President Barack Obama’s administration during the 2010 midterms, when Democrats suffered heavy losses. Obama called the result a “shellacking.”
Pfeiffer recalled that election night as one of the worst experiences of his life. He said the team had prepared for several possible outcomes, but the losses were worse than they had anticipated. They left the White House at 3 a.m., he said, and then-Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel warned them that the next day would be brutal and that people would call for them to be fired.
“And I am going to enjoy every second of every Trump staffer feeling that way tomorrow,” Pfeiffer said.
The White House had not responded to a request for comment by the time of publication.
During election-night coverage, Trump told “Special Report” anchor Bret Baier that he would veto legislation from Democrats if he opposed it. He described the veto as one of a president’s strongest powers and said he expected lawmakers would eventually work with him after facing repeated vetoes.
Trump also said he had spoken with several Democratic lawmakers and had more calls pending. He added that the veto power was “impervious.”
