I worked for Donald Trump and have three worrying predictions for what he'll do in October

 A former Donald Trump aide has warned that the US president could take a series of increasingly aggressive steps as the November midterm elections approach.

Miles Taylor, who served as chief of staff at the US Department of Homeland Security during Trump's first term, argues that the president's response to political defeats has followed a familiar pattern. And with October approaching, he believes the coming weeks could bring a new test of how far the administration is prepared to go.

Writing in the i, Taylor says: "When Donald Trump loses, he lashes out. And if the past few days are any indicator, his top advisers will be getting phone calls – like we did in his first term – demanding extreme measures. Only this time, he’ll have a more compliant audience." It comes after a lip reader revealed Trump's 5 tense words to his helicopter pilot during a furious meltdown.

His comments come after the US Supreme Court rejected the administration's attempt to introduce new restrictions on mail-in voting before the November 3 midterm elections.

The proposed rules would have required states to provide the US Postal Service with lists of mail-ballot recipients and use specially approved envelopes. The Supreme Court's decision means the measures cannot be introduced for this year's election.

Three of the justices who ruled against the administration – Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh – were appointed by Trump during his first term.

Trump subsequently criticised the court, saying the justices were "not the people I interviewed" and accusing the Supreme Court of being influenced by the "Radical Left".

Taylor says the ruling came at a particularly significant moment for the president, who is now campaigning ahead of the midterms.

"You can see the panic in his travel schedule," he writes, pointing to planned campaign appearances by Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Taylor says Vance is heading to Kansas to support Republican Senator Roger Marshall, while Trump is travelling to North Carolina on behalf of Michael Whatley, who is facing Democrat Roy Cooper.

He argues that Trump's reaction to those political pressures could become particularly significant as October approaches.

"The window for ‘October surprises’ – sudden moves ahead of the vote – is open," Taylor writes.

He then raises three possible scenarios that he says could emerge: deploying ICE agents around polling places, attempting to circumvent the Supreme Court's ruling on mail ballots, or using FBI agents to seize votes in areas where Republican candidates appear to be struggling.

Taylor stresses these are the "outlandish demands" he expects Trump could be making, rather than confirmed plans by the administration.

His warning is rooted in his experience of Trump's first presidency.

"I spent years watching this President absorb humiliation and somehow turn right back around and convert it into fresh recklessness," he writes.

Taylor recalls that, during the first term, Trump could issue controversial instructions after suffering political or legal setbacks. But he says there were officials prepared to push back.

"In the first term, when the phone rang after moments like these, Trump would recount his lawless fever dreams and bark immoral orders," he writes.

"But there were still people in the building willing to say ‘absolutely not’ to the crazy idea on the other end of the line."

Now, Taylor believes the key question is who would challenge the president if such a situation arose again.

"The phone is ringing again, but this time I have no idea who’s left to refuse him."