Republicans were so punch-drunk Tuesday night that they couldn’t even get off the mat to agree on who to blame for their electoral bloodbath.
asserted
they → get → bloodbath
The 2026 midterm elections saw the Democrats walk away with at least 54 seats in the Senate, in a night in which they won every single toss-up, barring Alaska, which as of 2 a.m. Eastern had not been called.
asserted
which → see → a.m.
They clinched the magic number of 218 needed to control the House of Representatives in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
asserted
They → clinch → morning
Before all the results were in, a very active President Donald Trump blamed the candidates and the war in Iran, while other Republicans apportioned responsibility to the president.
asserted
Republicans → blame → president
“I think a part of it was Iran,” Trump told Fox News early Wednesday morning.
asserted
Trump → think → News
“They didn’t like the candidates, and some of the candidates that I endorsed fought me, and they didn’t like they fought me …
asserted
they → like → me
the base would tell me — you know hundreds of thousands of people would just say, ‘Sir, they weren’t for you,’ and you know that this fellow has flaws.
asserted
fellow → tell → flaws
They knew more than I did about these people in some cases.
asserted
I → know → cases
In other cases, they just didn’t inspire the people to get out and vote.
asserted
they → inspire → people
If I was on the ballot, they would have gotten out.”
asserted
they → get → ballot
Not everyone saw it that way.
asserted
everyone → see → it
One Republican close to the White House told the Washington Examiner that “the wheels have come off, the driver is asleep, and the engine is on fire.”
asserted
engine → tell → fire
At the same time, a Trump administration source described the results as a “bloodbath” for the president and the party.
asserted
source → describe → president
Sarah Matthews, a White House deputy press secretary from Trump’s first term in office, told the Washington Examiner that “it seems like voters took Trump seriously when he told them to vote as if he were on the ballot.”
asserted
he → tell → ballot
“Trump has no one to blame but himself.
asserted
Trump → have → himself
He started a war with Iran, imposed tariffs that drove up costs for Americans, unleashed ICE to carry out cruel mass deportations, and presided over rampant corruption within his administration,” she said.
asserted
she → start → administration
“These are all self-inflicted wounds that fueled voter anger, and tonight, that anger showed up at the ballot box.
asserted
anger → inflict → box
It certainly didn’t help that he handpicked weak candidates who only made matters worse.
asserted
matters → help → candidates
And it turns out that making your closing argument about Jon Husted’s ass and the Cheesecake Factory wasn’t exactly a winning political strategy.”
asserted
making → turn → ass
A White House official had told the Washington Examiner that Trump and his aides were “cautiously optimistic” before early returns started trickling in Tuesday evening.
asserted
returns → tell → Examiner
Staff, for example, had ordered takeout from the nearby Cheesecake Factory, an apparent dig at former President Barack Obama, who said in the closing days of campaigning that Trump’s updates to the White House decor looked as if Saddam Hussein had designed one of the aforementioned chains himself.
asserted
Hussein → order → chains
“The President has left it all out on the field and he’s done everything that was needed.
asserted
that → leave → everything
Republicans are in a better spot now than they were four weeks ago,” the person said.
asserted
person → say → spot
But the mood inside the White House quickly shifted as the numbers started looking better for Democrats throughout the night.
asserted
numbers → shift → night
Trump told Fox News that he had already spoken with Democrats, as the likes of now-House oversight committee ranking member Robert Garcia (D-CA) advised the president to “LAWYER UP” as congressional investigations loom.
asserted
investigations → tell → president
Meanwhile, a senior White House official told the Washington Examiner shortly before 9 p.m. that the “White House mood is defiant.”
asserted
mood → tell → p.m.
One aide indicated that the White House blamed the war in Iran for moving voters toward Democratic candidates, adding that “anyone who voted Democrat today is going to have a serious case of buyer’s remorse when gas prices come down quickly when the Iran conflict is solved.”
“Regardless of how today plays out, President Trump’s resolve to stop the Radical Left is only going to become stronger,” that adviser said.
asserted
adviser → indicate → Left
Simultaneously, Trumpworld started to point fingers over the losses, which included stunning upset losses in South Carolina, Kansas, and the Democratic white whale of Texas.
asserted
which → start → Texas
One senior White House official suggested to the Washington Examiner that War Secretary Pete Hegseth was firmly in the crosshairs over his counseling of the president concerning the war in Iran.
uncertain
Hegseth → suggest → Iran
I hope he’s ready to explain to Congress what he told the president would happen,” that person said.
asserted
person → hope → president
Trump, however, downplayed the prospect of Hegseth being pushed out, telling Fox News host Bret Baier just after midnight Wednesday there were unlikely to be personnel changes.
asserted
Hegseth → downplay → midnight
“No, I don’t think so,” he said.
asserted
he → think → ?
“It had nothing to do with my Cabinet.
asserted
It → have → Cabinet
It was just a point — honestly, look.
asserted
It → look → ?
I’ve been doing a lot of great things for a long time, and it’s just a point in time.”
asserted
it → do → time
Other people in Trump’s orbit similarly sought to insulate the wider team from political repercussions.
asserted
people → seek → repercussions
“Nobody’s to blame.
asserted
Nobody → ’ → ?
It’s a f***ing wave,” one White House aide told the Washington Examiner.
asserted
aide → ’ → Examiner
A veteran Republican operative working with Trump’s outside political operation predicted that the news media would blame James Blair, Trump’s former White House deputy chief of staff who is leading the outside political shop, but insisted that Tuesday night was “not a matter of the minutiae of political operative decisions.”
For the operative, the results had a simple explanation.
asserted
results → work → explanation
“Clearly it is Iran and its consequences,” they said.
asserted
they → say → ?
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
