Al Gore Says People Close to Trump Believe He Secretly Wanted Democrats to Win the 2026 Midterms

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore said some people close to President Donald Trump believe he may have secretly wanted Democrats to win the 2026 midterm elections, allowing him to remain at the center of political attention through constant confrontations with the opposition. ⠀ Speaking during the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye, Gore said he had heard this interpretation privately from individuals close to the president. ⠀ “There are some people close to Trump who’ve said privately that they actually think he secretly wanted this outcome,” Gore said, suggesting that daily battles with a Democratic-controlled Congress could keep Trump firmly in the national spotlight. ⠀ But Gore stopped short of endorsing that theory. “I don’t want to try to psychoanalyze the president,” he said, adding with a touch of humor: “That would be an interesting challenge.” ⠀ The remarks followed the Democrats’ victories in the November 3 midterms, which gave the party control of both chambers of Congress and set the stage for a more confrontational relationship with the White House. ⠀ Gore also warned that climate-driven displacement could create political instability on a much greater scale. He pointed to the political tensions surrounding migration in countries including Hungary and the United States, arguing that future population movements could be far larger. ⠀ Citing a warning he attributed to the World Health Organization, Gore said as many as 1.2 billion people could be displaced by climate-related events within the next 25 years. That widely cited estimate concerns potential displacement by 2050, however, rather than a projection that 1.2 billion people will cross international borders. ⠀ The former vice president argued that the scale of future climate migration could place enormous pressure on political systems already struggling with public divisions over immigration.