Democrats have taken control of the Senate after a string of Republican-held seats fell in Tuesday's election.
asserted
string → take → election
The party flipped seats in North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Texas, South Carolina and Kansas.
asserted
party → flip → Carolina
In each of those states, Trump had either personally chosen the GOP nominee or tried to rally voters behind the candidate with campaign stops.
asserted
Trump → choose → stops
The outcome amounted to a rebuke of the president, coming as voters aired widespread concerns about high costs.
asserted
voters → amount → costs
Those concerns followed his war against Iran and his punishing tariff policy.
asserted
concerns → follow → Iran
Trump entered the midterms with dire polling numbers, and his plea to his own party appears to have undone him.
asserted
plea → enter → him
The results were also a major reprimand from voters of Trump, who repeatedly urged voters to “pretend I’m on the ballot” as he went into primarily conservative states to shore up Republican candidates and warned of a Washington where Democrats were in power.
asserted
Democrats → urge → power
As he tried to personalize the midterm campaign, Trump also defended his policies on tariffs and the war with Iran that drove up prices.
asserted
that → try → prices
Trump said: ‘Pretend I'm on the ballot.'
asserted
I → say → ballot
What do voters say?
asserted
voters → say → What
Voters who went to the polls on Tuesday rebuked Donald Trump and the Republican Party, even though the president himself was not on the ballot.
asserted
president → go → ballot
He asked Americans to vote as if he were, and exit polls suggest they took him at his word.
asserted
they → ask → word
Exit polling conducted by SSRS on behalf of a consortium of US media outlets, which included major television networks and the Associated Press, found that nearly 9 in 10 voters saw the cost of living as a crucial or major factor in their choice.
asserted
voters → conduct → choice
Many of those surveyed also said they feel worse off than they did two years ago.
asserted
they → survey → those
Roughly two-thirds of voters in the exit polls blamed Trump for high prices.
asserted
thirds → blame → prices
Three-quarters described themselves as either angry or dissatisfied with the direction of the country.
asserted
quarters → describe → country
Concern about government corruption was also widespread among those surveyed.
asserted
Concern → survey → those
The Democratic victories on Tuesday suggested that Trump's 19-state campaign blitz for Republican candidates in recent weeks had done little to improve his standing with voters.
uncertain
blitz → suggest → voters
Trump won the 2024 election on a promise to arrest high inflation.
asserted
Trump → win → inflation
Since then, his tariffs on foreign goods and his war against Iran have only worsened the economic situation for many Americans, and his popularity has sunk to record lows.
asserted
popularity → worsen → lows
On the campaign trail, he told Americans to absorb the higher costs.
asserted
he → tell → costs
The AP Voter Poll, an expansive survey of the electorate, suggests most voters are deeply unhappy with Trump.
uncertain
voters → suggest → Trump
Roughly 6 in 10 said they disapprove of how he's handling the presidency.
asserted
he → say → presidency
About 4 in 10 told the poll that the economy is the most important issue facing the country.
asserted
economy → tell → country
A further 3 in 10 named democracy as the most important issue, well above the number who said the same about crime, healthcare and immigration.
asserted
who → name → crime
The Republican president is trying to defy history, which shows that in almost every modern midterm election the party in the White House has lost seats in Congress – sometimes many of them.
asserted
party → try → them
Democrats certainly hope that's the case this year.
asserted
that → hope → ?
The party is optimistic, given Trump's dismal approval ratings and voter concerns about the war with Iran and the surging price of gas and other daily necessities.
asserted
party → give → gas
Trump is betting that his base of white working-class voters, which fueled his presidential victories in 2016 and 2024, can save his Republican allies if they show up in great numbers.
asserted
they → bet → numbers
Heading into Election Day, however, signs suggested Democrats were more fired up to vote against him and his party.
uncertain
Democrats → head → him
Americans rejected Trump’s personal picks
The candidates Donald Trump elevated, despite objections from local Republicans, struggled in races the party expected to win, and several fell.
asserted
several → reject → races
His handpicked Senate candidates in South Carolina and North Carolina, Graham and Michael Whatley, lost.
asserted
candidates → lose → Carolina
In Texas, Paxton was soundly beaten.
asserted
Paxton → beat → Texas
Trump's choices left Republicans fighting on the defensive in states where they had been favored to win.
asserted
they → leave → states
The losses are likely to revive questions about Trump's political instincts.
asserted
losses → revive → instincts
In particular, they are likely to revive questions about his tendency to prioritize personal loyalty over candidates with broader electoral appeal.
asserted
they → revive → appeal
The exit polls showed that the coalition of voters that powered his 2024 victory is badly fractured.
Will Trump interfere?
asserted
Trump → show → victory
As news of the blue wave filtered through, Trump tweeted a photo of a version of one of his red baseball caps with the word “Veto” written across it.
asserted
Trump → filter → it
The president made threats about becoming “President Veto” in order to stop the Democratic agenda.
asserted
president → make → agenda
The world is also watching to see whether the president leverages the federal government's vast resources to interfere with the election.
asserted
president → watch → election
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
