The US midterm elections served as a referendum on President Donald Trump's second term in office.
Throughout the campaign, Trump told voters to imagine his name on the ballot. That framing may be precisely what drove many conservatives to the other side.
Trump's responses overnight ran the full spectrum—denial, blame, defiance, and finally a grudging acknowledgment of the Democratic victory.
1. The first post: "If I were on the ballot, we'd have won in a landslide"
At 10:37 PM Eastern time, Trump posted his first direct response on Truth Social:
"I wasn't on the ballot, and if I had been, we would have won in a landslide! Thank you for your attention to this matter."
The message was clear: Trump sought to distance himself from responsibility for the loss, claiming the results would have been different had his name appeared on the ballot.
2. Attack on Texas governor: "He became a Republican in name only"
At 11:35 PM, Trump turned his fire on Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who lost to Democrat Gina Hinojosa.
He wrote:
"If Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, hadn't become a RINO in the last six months of his political career, he wouldn't have lost. He went back to his original formula, and it wasn't pretty!"
RINO stands for Republican In Name Only. Trump placed the blame on the candidate's political conduct rather than on the national party leadership.
3. "I'm going to become a political commentator"
Three minutes later, at 11:38 PM, Trump posted again:
"I'm going to become a political commentator, for better or worse, on the reasons these candidates won and lost!"
The statement suggested Trump intends to continue analyzing the election results and publicly dissecting Republican candidates' failures.
4. A MAGA hat with the word VETO
At 11:40 PM, Trump posted an image of his signature red MAGA hat with the word VETO printed on it.
The message came against the backdrop of Democrats potentially taking control of both houses of Congress and attempting to advance legislation Trump would oppose. He later clarified in an interview that he intends to use his veto power against Democratic bills.
5. Fox News blamed for the loss: "They're responsible for the results"
At 11:52 PM, Trump launched one of his sharpest attacks of the night, this time against Fox News, the network typically associated with conservative audiences.
He criticized the network's decision to give airtime to former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio:
"Why does Fox News bring on Bill de Blasio, the worst mayor in New York history, when he rants and raves like a lunatic? He left the city in disgrace, and the damage he caused was unimaginable. The city has never recovered to what it was, and now he's explaining to us how to run America."
He then pointed the finger directly at the network:
"Fox News bears responsibility for these losses, by consistently and regularly featuring Democratic opposition figures, and even worse."
This attack joined a series of earlier posts in which he accused Fox of hostile coverage toward him.
In another post, he claimed the network's ratings had dropped 27% due to extensive coverage of Democrats, declaring: "My numbers are better than ever." He also complained about the network's polls, claiming the questions were biased against him.
6. Interview with Fox: "The Democrats did a good job"
Once the political picture became clear, Trump gave a phone interview to Fox News's election coverage. In contrast to his attacks on the network on social media, he actually complimented the rival party.
"I'll say this: congratulations to the Democrats. They did a good job."
He added:
"They've been waiting for this moment for 11 years, and they finally achieved it. But I don't see this as a blow to me."
Trump also made clear he would not challenge the election results:
"I'm certainly prepared to accept these results. We'll work with the Democrats, and we expect to work with them. We'll probably be able to reach agreements."
At the same time, he did not hide his intention to fight the Democratic majority's legislative initiatives:
"They can send me 50 great bills they're excited about, and I'll send them back with a nice stamp—veto."
7. Trump admits: The Iran war contributed to the loss
One of Trump's most significant statements concerned the war with Iran, which had become a central issue in the elections.
In the Fox interview, the president acknowledged the war affected the results:
"I think part of it was Iran, but at the same time, people understood the importance of what I did with Iran."
In another segment of the interview, he addressed the high fuel prices caused by the war:
"People agree with what I'm doing with Iran, but apparently they weren't willing to bear the short-term consequences of paying higher prices for fuel. I understand that, I don't agree with it."
He even said he was surprised by the extent of the loss:
"I'm a bit surprised. I thought they would do better. We held tremendous rallies."
Trump added that in his view, the historical implications of his actions against Iran would be more important than the results of election night, and he defended his policy by arguing that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.
8. "It's just a point in time"—Trump refuses to take personal responsibility
In another interview with Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, Trump was asked whether he planned to make changes in his administration following the results.
His answer was negative:
"No, I don't think so. This has nothing to do with my cabinet."
He then tried to explain the result through the history of US midterm elections:
"I've done a lot of great things for a long time, and this is just a point in time. That's how it is. There was probably some atmosphere in the air."
He also claimed that sitting presidents almost always lose power in midterm elections, and therefore the result should not be seen as his personal failure.
9. And what about Iran? "We need to do something big"
In the same interview, Trump was asked about continuing the campaign against Iran, and he made clear that from his perspective, the issue is far from over.
He said:
"We need to do something big."
