Donald Trump received a crushing blow in disastrous US midterms as the Democrats seized control of Congress, leaving the president’s second term in office in tatters.
asserted
Democrats → receive → tatters
Win after win for the Democrats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate demonstrated an overwhelming rejection of Trump’s policies and presidency.
asserted
Win → demonstrate → policies
Vice president JD Vance squarely placed the blame on the war with Iran, saying it would take an “honest conversation” about the conflict to reconcile where “we go from here”.
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we → place → conflict
Pressure fell on Secretary of State for War Pete Hegseth, who was expected to be in the firing line for the overwhelming defeat.
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who → fall → defeat
The spiralling cost of living and failed tariff policies were also critical to the Republican loss.
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cost → spiral → loss
Trump wasted no time in blaming the Republican candidates themselves for the rout, ranting on Truth Social on Tuesday night: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
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we → waste → LANDSLIDE
The president was unusually quiet in the hours after the result, accused of hiding in his private residence at the White House as results flooded in.
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results → accuse → House
A source close to the president told the Daily Mail that the president spent the evening sat in the dark in the White House residence, “watching Fox News barely uttering a word and paralyzed into silence”.
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president → tell → silence
Trump made an appearance at the White House to praise the work being done on his ballroom and the Reflecting Pool, but avoided discussing his party’s historic midterm election defeat.
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Trump → make → defeat
According to exit polls by SSRS, half of voters nationwide said they saw the midterms as an opportunity to rebuke the president, while three-quarters said they were “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the way the country is headed.
uncertain
country → accord → way
In the early hours, after the polls closed, Trump was ultimately forced to concede that the Democrats “did a good job”, congratulating them on their historic win.
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Democrats → close → win
“I don’t view it as a hit on me,” he said in a call to Fox News.
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he → view → News
“I think we’ve had the greatest two years in the history of the presidency in terms of the economy, in terms of all the things we’ve done.
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we → think → things
The midterms produced several firsts for both parties as in Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor of any US state, while Byron Donalds, in Florida, became the first Black Republican governor in the US.
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Donalds → produce → US
Democrat Gina Hinojosa will become the first Latina governor in Texas, while Democrat Xavier Becerra will be California's first Latino governor.
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Becerra → become → Texas
Abdul El-Sayed will became the first Muslim elected to the Senate after his resounding win in Michigan.
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Sayed → become → Michigan
The Democratic wave flooded huge swathes of the country, eroding some the firmest of Republican bastions.
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wave → flood → bastions
In Texas, James Talarico became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state since 1988.
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Talarico → become → 1988
And in Kansas, Adam Hamilton, a megachurch pastor, became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat since the Great Depression nearly a century ago, while in Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown claimed a seat that belonged to JD Vance only two years ago.
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that → become → Vance
The Democrats focused their campaign on corruption and affordability, while capitalising on the unpopularity of the Iran war, while the Republicans under Trump attacked Democrats over culture war issues, portraying their opponents as radicals.
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Republicans → focus → radicals
Once seated in January, Democrats are expected to use their power to investigate Trump's administration, family and allies and demand concessions on major legislation.
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Democrats → seat → legislation
Trump offered some insight into his plan to obfuscate Congress, sharing a picture on his social media platform of one of his iconic red baseball caps featuring one word: “Veto.”
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Trump → offer → word
On Sunday, ahead of the elections, he had said he expected to issue presidential vetoes for “a month or two” until he can reach compromises with the Democrats.
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he → say → Democrats
Dr Rebecca Stone, associate professor of US History at the University of Warwick, told The Independent that Trump’s knee-jerk ‘veto’ reaction reveals how he intends to play out the rest of his presidency.
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he → tell → presidency
“There is no limit to the number of vetoes a president can wield,” she explained.
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she → be → vetoes
“While they can be overridden by a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate, such a feat would require the support of at least a few elected Republicans.”
asserted
feat → override → Republicans
The Aporia
