Midterms: Trump blames GOP candidates after blue wave hits Texas
The president said Democrats won a Senate majority they sought for 11 years while pointing to the Iran war and weak Republican tickets as factors in the losses.
By Jason Wood ·
Voters in Texas and other long-standing Republican strongholds shifted their ballots to Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections held on Tuesday. The results delivered a majority in the Senate to the opposition party, a seat they had sought for 11 years. President Donald Trump acknowledged the shift on Fox News, describing the Democratic performance as a "good job."
Trump attributed the Republican losses primarily to the quality of their candidates. He stated that some nominees were "not acceptable to the voters" and that his party "could have been better." He expressed surprise at the outcome, noting that he had expected to transfer his support to the candidates but that they did not achieve that result.
The president also cited the ongoing conflict with Iran as a contributing factor. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he said, "Iran was a piece of it." Despite this, Trump maintained that he did not regret the war. He told the Fox News audience, "I did the right thing. I would have done it again."
Trump outlined his plan to manage the new legislative reality. He pledged to veto Democratic policies that he called "insane" while expressing a willingness to cooperate. He said, "I think we’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll get along very well with them." He added that if collaboration failed, both sides would be "very tough" on one another.
The president also discussed the recent announcement that the United States would end $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of 2026. He told Fox News that he has discussed the change with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the past four months. Trump claimed the prime minister "barely even pushed back" and suggested the idea himself. Israel will still be able to purchase weapons from the United States.
On Truth Social, Trump claimed he would have won "in a landslide" if he had been on the ballot. He told Fox News, "I don't like to consider this a defeat; I wasn't on the ballot." The election results mark a significant change in the balance of power in the Senate, with Democrats now holding the majority following Tuesday's vote.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
