From The New Yorker · Susan B. Glasser · · 2m
Trump's defeat in the midterms
Republicans reject Trump decisively in 2026, handing Democrats control of Congress and repudiating the President's policies and conduct.
In brief
Republicans reject Trump decisively in 2026, handing Democrats control of Congress and repudiating the President's policies and conduct. American voters, including Trump's own supporters, rejected him decisively in the 2026 midterms, handing Democrats control of both chambers of Congress. Originally reported by The…
Trump denies responsibility
Before 11 P.M. on Election Night, Trump posted that he would have won in a landslide if he were on the ballot, then blamed Texas Governor Greg Abbott for his own defeat.
“I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
Trump blames Fox News
Trump then claimed Fox News bore responsibility for Republican losses by putting on Democratic opposition, saying the network had failed him.
“Fox News bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse.”
The scale of defeat
Republicans lost the House by thirty-five or more seats and the Senate by as many as eight seats. This outcome has happened only once since World War Two, in 1958.
Trump's own voters turned
J. D. Vance admitted the problem was not that Republicans failed to show up but that they did. Many who voted for Trump and Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026.
“The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026.”
Trump accepts the results
Even as the disaster became clear, Trump told the Times he was absolutely willing to accept the results he had spent two years preparing to contest.
“absolutely willing”
A decisive repudiation
The 2026 midterm election will be known as one of the most decisive rejections of an American President since Richard Nixon left office in 1974.
Trump's campaign strategy backfired
Trump insisted on making the election about himself and his policies. Republican voters around the country admitted their mistake and voted to rectify it, showing moral revulsion.
Multiple reasons for rejection
Voters rejected tariffs and trade wars, Canada-bashing, Europe-bashing, betrayal of Ukraine, embrace of Vladimir Putin, self-enrichment, and ICE enforcement. They voted against high costs and un-American conduct.
Trump's final month of campaigning
Trump held twenty-one rallies in twenty-one days, talking about Jon Husted's ass and his golden ballroom while dismissing voters' concerns about affordability, the war, and other issues.
The collapse unfolds
By 9:58 P.M., CNN's John King announced clearly and unequivocally that this was the collapse of the President's party on live television. The scale was unprecedented.
“This is the collapse of the President's party, on live television.”
America's message to Trump
The American people have finally and definitively told Donald Trump that enough is enough. Senator Jon Ossoff said the first light of dawn is on the horizon.
“The first light of dawn is on the horizon.”
What matters most
American voters, including Trump's own supporters, rejected him decisively in the 2026 midterms, handing Democrats control of both chambers of Congress.
