Democrats sweep Congress; Trump claims he would have won 2026 race

Trump claims he would have won if on the ballot

Donald Trump stated he was not on the ballot during the midterms and suggested that if he had been, the Republicans would have achieved a different result. He claimed he would have won in a "LANDSLIDE" in a post on Truth Social at 10:37 p.m. on election night.

Trump attributed the Republican Party's poor performance to voters not liking the specific candidates. He claimed his pre-election rallies were filled with love from his supporters, but that this support could not be transferred to the Republican candidates.

The AP Voter Poll indicated that approximately two-thirds of voters believe Trump lacks the right priorities, while only about 4 in 10 voters nationwide approved of his job performance. In Ohio, Iowa, Maine, and North Carolina, the majority of voters felt that Republican Senate candidates were "too supportive" of the president.

Trump focuses on ballroom project and veto power

In his first public comments following the Republican election losses, Donald Trump focused on justifying his project to build a sprawling White House ballroom rather than discussing the election results. On 4 November 2026, he held a press event at a White House construction site to discuss this new ballroom project, during which he did not mention the election losses.

Trump asserted that he holds "ultimate power" in the form of a "strong veto" to use in upcoming legislative fights. Before polls closed, he told CBS News he held "the ultimate power — it’s called veto".

Historic Democratic gains in Texas and South Carolina

Democrats secured control of Texas in the 2026 midterms, marking the first time in over three decades that the party has won a statewide race in the state. James Talarico won the U.S. Senate race in Austin, Texas, on 3 November 2026.

In TX-23, Padilla Stout won and stated that voters are tired of Trump's policies and the lack of funding for schools and communities compared to billionaire handouts. Economic hardship caused by the war in Iran and tariffs implemented by President Trump were significant factors in the Democratic success in Texas.

Democrats also gained control of both the House and Senate, including victories in South Carolina and Kansas.

In the South Carolina Senate race, Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Republican Darline Graham, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.

International media and government reactions to election results

International media reactions to the Democratic win included the French newspaper Libération calling it a "vague bleue," while the Daily Mail labelled it a "historic blue tsunami". The Times of India used the headline "midterm blues for Trump".

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius congratulated the Democrats on an "historic victory".

Representatives from Greece and Russia stated that they expect their strategic relationships with the United States to remain strong despite the election outcome. Iranian government supporters held a rally on 4 November 2026 to mark the anniversary of the 1979 United States Embassy takeover, during which they stepped on United States and Israeli flags.

Pundits describe Republican loss as a historic wave

Media commentators provided analysis on the election results as the shift in power became clear. CNN’s Jake Tapper referred to the Democratic victory as "a bluenami".

Steve Kornacki of NBC described the election results as "Absolute carnage for Republicans … Democrats are getting everything that they asked for". Kornacki hosted an all-Kornacki livestream on YouTube that maintained a viewer count of at least 300,000 throughout the night. NBC has also launched a paid newsletter titled "Data Dive with Steve Kornacki".

Dana Bash of CNN described the election results as "the beginning of Donald Trump’s lame-duck lame duck era". Kaitlan Collins of CNN stated that Democratic control of the House means the White House will face "subpoenas and investigations and oversight".

Rachel Maddow of MS NOW characterized the election results as "a seismic change in Washington". Lawrence O’Donnell of MS NOW stated, "This means the Trump reign of terror is over".

Conservative commentator Scott Jennings described the Republican loss as "a country ass-whooping," attributing the result to the "cost of living and gas prices".

Trump’s social media outbursts and policy claims

Donald Trump told the New York Times on Tuesday that he is "absolutely willing to accept" the midterm results.

Trump reiterated his willingness to work with Democrats during a later interview with CBS News on election night.

On Tuesday afternoon, Trump posted on Truth Social that he was changing the channel from Fox News because of panelist Jessica Tarlov. He described her as "DUMB AS A ROCK" and a "LOSER".

Jessica Tarlov suggested that Greg Gutfeld should treat text messages from Trump like spam, telling him to "Just press STOP". Trump had sent a text message to Gutfeld during his show claiming that gas prices were lower under his presidency than under the Biden and Obama administrations. He also claimed in the message that they allowed Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb.

Trump told Josh Dawsey of the Wall Street Journal that he did not regret the war with Iran. He stated, "I did the right thing. I would have done it again". Regarding the war with Iran, Trump told Dawsey that "Iran was a piece of it".