Donald Trump lashed out at Fox News as the first polls closed in the 2026 midterm elections, dismissing the network’s exit-poll questions as “BULLS***.”
The president appeared on Fox early on Election Day, but hours later turned to Truth Social to attack the network’s election coverage.
Trump was especially angry about the results of Fox’s “Voter Poll,” which found that 87 percent of respondents were worried about gas prices and 62 percent blamed his policies for the increase.
“The FoxNews Poll, always the worst, is so insulting with the questions they ask. Every question is a hit job, and every answer is ‘BULLS***!’ This has been going on for years,” he wrote.
The survey also put Trump’s approval rating at 38 percent, roughly matching figures from similar CBS News and CNN polls.
Trump then turned his attention to Jessica Tarlov, the liberal co-host of Fox News’ The Five and a frequent target of his criticism.
“Watching the Pre-Election Results on FoxNews, but I can’t stand Jessica Tarlov’s voice — DUMB AS A ROCK, but it’s the voice that gets me. Have to go somewhere else until that LOSER is off the air — I’ll be back later!”
He even sent a message to co-host Greg Gutfeld during the live broadcast, which Gutfeld read on air.
Donald Trump attacked Fox News as the first polls closed in the 2026 midterms, branding its exit-poll questions “BULLS***”
Trump renewed his criticism of Jessica Tarlov, one of Fox News’ most prominent liberal commentators
“Greg, tell Tarlov — who is the WORST — gas prices are lower than they were for Biden and Obama and they allowed Iran to have the nuclear bomb. Furthermore, I inherited the worst prices and inflation in history from Sleepy Joe. Prices are heading down FAST! Just like all other prices and so is inflation which is 1.7 percent. And there will be no ‘nuclear bomb.’”
The president also criticized Fox News’ performance across the network.
“FoxNews Ratings are way down (27%!) because they’re spending too much time covering the Trump Deranged Dumocrats! All of those people who used to watch Fox, and no longer do, get it,” he said.
“It’s them, not me — My numbers are better than they have ever been. The new CNN Poll stated that ‘TRUMP’ is at 99% among Republicans and, among Republican Presidents, ‘TRUMP’ is at 53%, compared to Ronald Reagan at 18%, and Abraham Lincoln at 8%! Fox knows this, and so does everyone else!”
He further accused Fox Corp., the network’s parent company, of donating money to Democratic politicians and liberal political groups.
“Also, why is Fox Corp. spending so much money donating to the Worst of the Worst, including Hakeem Jeffries, Jamie Raskin, Ted Lieu, Pete Aguilar, the California Dumocratic Party, the Dumocratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Dumocratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, the CHC Bold PAC, and the New Dumocrat Coalition Action Fund, among others?”
“No wonder FoxNews Ratings are collapsing, and they’re going to go down a lot further. They’re way down, not because of me, but because they are AGAINST me! This happened once before, and Fox almost collapsed. It’s happening again!”
Before the results came in, Trump continued making calls and told CBS News that he was prepared to use “tremendous powers” if Democrats won control of Congress.
Fox News host Jesse Watters predicted a possible Democratic wave and questioned how severe the losses could become
Trump broadened his attack to include Fox News’ declining ratings
“I have the ultimate power — it’s called ‘veto,’” he added.
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On Fox News, meanwhile, Jesse Watters was bracing for a Democratic surge and wondering how damaging the night could become for Republicans.
“I don’t feel great. I feel like I’m about to play a game that I know I’m gonna lose. I’m just trying not to get hurt. And getting hurt would mean you lose the Senate. And right now the Senate is very much in play! And it’s making me angry! But I knew this was coming. Everybody knew this was coming. It’s just, how bad is it going to be?”
Control of Congress was at stake as voters across the country headed to the polls to cast their final ballots in the 2026 midterm elections.
Democrats needed to flip four Republican-held Senate seats to take control of the chamber, while a gain of only three seats would give them the House.
Voters turned out in large numbers over issues ranging from the cost of living to the war in Iran, while disorder and political tensions flared in several key battleground states.
By the close of Tuesday, more than 100 million people were expected to have voted in House and Senate races nationwide, determining whether Democrats could seize control of both chambers.
Forecasts ranged from predictions of a Republican collapse under a “blue wave” — or even a “blue tsunami” — to warnings that polling models could be wrong. That has happened before.
Conversations with voters across the country indicated that living costs, gasoline and diesel prices, and frustration with the Iran war were the dominant concerns, cutting across traditional party lines.
Much of the anger was directed at Trump, whose approval rating had recently fallen to a record-low 36 percent in an average of polls, while his disapproval rating climbed above 60 percent.
The president mounted an intense final campaign push, holding 30 rallies in vulnerable states throughout October in an effort to turn out Republican voters.
But some analysts argued that Trump’s visibility and rhetoric could alienate independent voters, creating what one expert described as a “red undertow.”
Several Republican candidates tried to strike a delicate balance, embracing portions of Trump’s platform while separating themselves from him over the Iran war.
If Democrats captured both the House and Senate, Trump would likely spend the final two years of his presidency facing congressional resistance to much of his agenda, alongside investigations into alleged corruption involving him and his family.
Held midway through each four-year presidential term, the midterms put all 435 House seats and roughly one-third of the Senate up for election. This year, 35 Senate seats were contested, along with 36 governorships.
Republicans entered the election with a 218-214 House majority. Two seats were vacant, while one independent member caucused with Republicans.
As a result, Democrats needed to win only three Republican-held districts to take the chamber. Nearly all established forecasters considered them strong favorites, with the central question being how large their majority could become and how much authority Hakeem Jeffries, the likely incoming speaker, would have to restrain the party’s democratic socialist wing.
On Election Day, prediction market Kalshi gave Democrats roughly a 94 percent chance of winning the House and a 77 percent chance of taking the Senate.
With the House widely expected to fall to Democrats, attention centered on the Senate, where Republicans held a 53-47 majority.
A 50-50 Senate after November 3 would have allowed Republicans to retain control, with Vice President JD Vance holding the tie-breaking vote. The party would also have kept control of the committees Democrats hoped to use to investigate Trump.
To secure an outright majority, Democrats needed a net gain of four seats, bringing their total to 51.
Of the 35 Senate seats up for election, Republicans held 22 and Democrats held 13.
