Midterm voters gave President Trump a "shellacking" on Tuesday, akin to that delivered to Democrat Barack Obama in 2010, when Republicans picked up 63 seats in the House and seven seats in the Senate.
asserted
Republicans → give → Senate
Though yesterday’s numbers were tempered by recent gerrymandering, the election was brutal for the GOP and for President Trump.
asserted
election → temper → Trump
Democrats gained control of both the House and the Senate on Tuesday.
asserted
Democrats → gain → Tuesday
The numbers are not all in, but Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats and more than a dozen House seats.
asserted
Democrats → flip → seats
The results in deep red Texas, where James Talarico beat Ken Paxton to become the first Democratic senator from the Lone Star State in 33 years, were shocking but not entirely unexpected.
asserted
Talarico → beat → years
Paxton was an unpopular candidate who carried a lot of baggage.
asserted
who → carry → baggage
That Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, putting a Democrat in the governor’s mansion for the first time in 32 years, was more stunning.
asserted
defeated → defeat → years
Equally stunning was that Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, the controversial anti-Israel progressive running for an open Senate seat in Michigan, beat former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers.
asserted
beat → run → Rogers
One of the few bright spots for Republicans was Florida, where Republican Ashley Moody held her Senate seat and Rep. Byron Donalds became the first Black governor of the state.
asserted
Donalds → hold → state
As they did in 2010, Americans across the nation strongly rebuked the sitting president, declaring themselves unhappy with the first two years of his second term.
asserted
themselves → do → term
Unfortunately for Republicans, questionable polling from many sources and President Trump’s low approval ratings turned out to be reasonably accurate predictors of the midterms.
asserted
polling → turn → midterms
My view is this: as in 2010, voters in this midterm cycle pummeled the incumbent for overreaching.
asserted
voters → pummel → overreaching
Trump mistook his landslide 2024 win for a mandate, as did Obama.
asserted
Obama → mistake → mandate
Both presidents offended voters by going too far – in Obama’s case by trying to deliver on his campaign pledge to "change" the country.
asserted
presidents → offend → country
He forced through an unpopular massive health care program, turned our energy industries upside down by executive order, an effort later rejected by the courts, and ratcheted up government spending, which ushered in the Republican-led Tea Party.
asserted
which → force → Party
In President Trump’s case, he quickly closed the border, which voters demanded after his predecessor Joe Biden recklessly allowed millions of people to enter the country illegally.
asserted
millions → close → country
But he then pursued an aggressive effort to deport all undocumented people, including those who had lived in the U.S. for years and had committed no crime other than their original illegal entry.
asserted
who → pursue → entry
Voters did not approve of the resulting ICE-led confrontations, which in a couple of cases led to violent outcomes.
asserted
which → approve → outcomes
Americans, who just months earlier had demanded secure borders, soured on the president’s signature immigration policies.
asserted
who → demand → policies
Trump’s decision to wage war against Iran, in an effort to rid that state sponsor of terror of nuclear weapons, contradicted his campaign pledge to keep us out of foreign conflicts.
asserted
decision → wage → conflicts
Even those who supported Trump’s goal of preventing the mullahs from acquiring the deadliest of weapons lost patience as oil prices moved higher.
asserted
prices → support → patience
Trump also unilaterally imposed tariffs on our trading partners, as he did in his first term, in order to level the playing field for U.S. companies.
asserted
he → impose → companies
Though the White House can point to a rise in investment flowing into the U.S. and an upturn in domestic manufacturing as rewards for those measures, the president wielded his tariff weapon recklessly.
asserted
president → point → weapon
War-related jumps in gasoline and diesel prices combined with some inflation caused by Trump’s tariffs gave Democrats the opportunity to promise they would, if elected, deliver "affordability."
asserted
they → relate → affordability
It was an audacious claim, given that Joe Biden clobbered the country with a 21% jump in the cost of living during his four years in office, far surpassing what has happened under Trump.
uncertain
what → give → Trump
Nonetheless, Trump was punished for promising to bring prices down and failing to do so.
asserted
Trump → punish → prices
Democrats running in the midterms had no real, specific agenda.
asserted
Democrats → run → agenda
Though they promise to deliver "affordability," they have not laid out how they will manage that.
asserted
they → promise → that
Some candidates have promised to implement Medicare for All to bring health care costs down, but fail to explain how they will come up with the estimated $25 to $50 trillion price tag.
asserted
they → promise → tag
Some Democrats have run on reverting to Biden’s war on fossil fuels, but that will drive energy costs higher, not lower.
asserted
that → run → costs
Rather than laying out a specific platform, Democrats campaigned mainly on hating Donald Trump.
asserted
Democrats → lay → Trump
He played into their hands by telling Americans to vote as if he were on the ballot.
asserted
he → play → ballot
He was trying to drive turnout among his base, knowing that the left had fired up the opposition.
asserted
left → try → opposition
But too many voters took him literally and voted against his party and him.
asserted
voters → take → party
The president will have to take responsibility for Republican losses.
asserted
president → have → losses
His policies were on the line, and in Texas and South Carolina he pushed forward flawed candidates.
asserted
he → push → candidates
Democrats will cheer their wins, but tomorrow they will have to bring their fractured party together to govern.
asserted
they → cheer → party
The progressive wing of the Democratic Party will push policies like Medicare for All, abolishing ICE and eliminating U.S. support for Israel, which the majority of Americans may not support.
uncertain
majority → push → Americans
They will advocate for higher taxes and bigger welfare programs, risking U.S. credit ratings and driving up interest rates and inflation.
asserted
They → advocate → rates
Worse, some are calling to shut down the buildout of AI, risking U.S. dominance in the most important new technology of our time, as well as jobs, investment and economic growth.
asserted
some → call → time
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
