He remains president, of course. He can continue to issue executive orders, within the limits established by law, and to use his veto power over laws passed by Congress. But the results of the mid-term elections in the United States speak clearly: the defeat is resounding, sensational, for Donald Trump. The Democratic Party swept the 2026 midterm elections, gaining control of both the House and the Senate. While the counting of the ballot papers is still underway, the Dems are set to conquer all the seats in the balance on the eve, identified as decisive for obtaining the majority in Congress. An overwhelming triumph, which will make President Trump’s political life much more difficult. And which certifies a high level of discontent towards his policies on the part of US voters. “Trumpism” has deflated, it seems.
The voters turned their backs on him
The US president told the New York Times that he accepts the results of the elections in which the Republicans were defeated, and that he is ready to “work with the Democrats”, but on Truth he claims that with his name on the ballot the party would have achieved a clear victory. What can change now for him and for the United States, concretely?
Midterm elections are held halfway through each presidential term and are considered a “thermometer” of voters’ satisfaction with the policies of the incumbent of the White House. This is a historically difficult appointment for the president in office, even if the defeat suffered by Trump in 2026 appears rather marked. The voters turned their backs on him. In states where vote counting is almost finished, preferences have shifted toward the Democratic Party by about 16 percentage points nationwide. It is a much greater movement than that of 2024 – by 5 points in favor of the Republicans – which brought Donald Trump back to the White House. And it is even more marked in traditionally Republican states, such as Tennessee and Kentucky, where the Democrats improved their performance by 18 percentage points.
How Trump took it
“My message is: congratulations to the Democrats, we look forward to working with you,” Trump commented, also assuring that he would accept the results of the vote. The president followed the counting from the East Room of the White House, and while the counting of votes was underway but it was already clear that it would be a bad evening for the Republicans, he expressed his frustration on X: “If my name had been on the ballot I would have won by a landslide”. Then he softened his tone, complimenting the dems for how they fought and extending his hand to them. “We look forward to working with you,” he said, assuring that he will not make any changes within his administration after a defeat that “has nothing to do with the government” and which – he admitted – is partly responsible for the war in Iran.
The flops of his candidates
The defeat for Trump appears even more evident if we consider that the candidates personally chosen by the president suffered heavy defeats: Darline Graham in South Carolina was overtaken by Anni Andrews, and Ken Paxton lost in Texas against James Taralico, the first Democrat to be elected to the Senate in the state since 1988. In Texas, a stronghold of the Republicans, the conservative governor Greg Abbott also lost against the Democrat Gina Hinojosa.
The Democrats also conquered Kansas – another traditional Republican state – electing Adam Hamilton, the first Dem since 1932. They also achieved an important success in Maine, where Troy Jackson beat the Republican veteran Susan Collins. In Georgia, Senator Jon Ossoff was reconfirmed and can look forward to the 2028 presidential elections with optimism, should he decide to run.
What you can do and not do now
Now that the American Democrats have gained control of the entire Congress, Donald Trump’s political life will become significantly more complicated. Unlike the Italian system, however, in the US system the government is not bound by a relationship of trust with Parliament. Trump therefore remains in office for the remainder of his mandate, which will end in January 2029, keeping all the prerogatives of the executive power intact.
Having said this, what will change significantly will be both his ability to get new laws approved and to choose names close to him in the appointments of figures who must be confirmed by the Senate. Now Trump will be forced to negotiate all the most important political choices with the Democrats, to obtain the green light from a Parliament hostile to him. Even if the White House retains the power of veto, that is, the possibility for the president in office to block a law passed by Congress that he does not like.
The lame duck towards the 2028 vote
It is clear that he comes away very weakened by this vote. There is already talk of “lame duck”, an image often evoked for presidents who have lost control of Congress and who will not be able to run again in subsequent elections: the American Constitution in fact sets the maximum number of terms in the White House at two. With Trump “crippled” and the Democrats in control of Congress, the race for the 2028 presidential elections will open almost immediately.
They will be the first since 2012 in which the tycoon will not lead the Republicans, and the large defeat suffered in these midterm elections could weigh on the chances of candidates close to him obtaining the party’s nomination for the White House.