Some of the most influential figures in Donald Trump’s MAGA movement were left stunned Tuesday night after Democrats appeared to reclaim control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections.
Within hours of polls closing, Democrats had captured the House and Senate, potentially securing substantial majorities in both chambers.
Ben Shapiro offered one of the evening’s starkest assessments from the right, telling The Daily Wire: “We’re just getting wiped out.”
At the time, Shapiro was referring to a series of expected Democratic upsets in states such as Texas, South Carolina and Kansas.
“I mean, these are deep red states,” he said, referring to places where Democratic candidates were later confirmed as winners.
Shapiro argued that the results represented a broader blue wave, rather than a series of isolated defeats caused by weak Republican candidates.
Instead, he directed much of the blame toward Trump.
“This is happening because there is a generalized dyspepsia with the presidency, and I don’t know another way to see that,” Shapiro said.
Prominent MAGA figures, including Ben Shapiro (pictured), reacted with dismay after Democrats won back the House and Senate in the midterm elections
Trump, meanwhile, blamed the candidates and emphasized that he himself had not appeared on the ballot, despite urging MAGA voters to view the races as a test of his movement.
“I wasn’t on the ballot, and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” he wrote.
Speaking by phone with Fox News, Trump maintained that his position on the Iran War was sound, while acknowledging that its political costs had hurt Republicans.
“People agree with what I’m doing on Iran, but they probably weren’t willing to deal with the short, the early consequence of paying more for gasoline,” he said. “You know, I understand that. I don’t agree with it. Too bad.”
A White House official described the atmosphere as “defiant” and backed Trump’s argument that the results did not amount to a referendum on his administration.
“Candidate quality matters, and President Trump did a better job promoting many of the candidates on the ballot than the candidates did themselves,” the official said.
“Also, anyone who voted Democrat today is going to have a serious case of buyers’ remorse when gas prices come down quickly when the Iran conflict is solved, but they’re still stuck with a list of liberal extremist Democrats.
“And a final note here: Regardless of how today plays out, President Trump’s resolve to stop the Radical Left is only going to become stronger. Buckle up.”
Trump blamed the candidates while also stressing that he had not been on the ballot in the races Republicans lost
“I hate to say it, but America is over,” Laura Loomer declared
Elon Musk, who is often credited with supplying the money and influence that helped Trump win the 2024 election, responded to the losses with a joke Tuesday night.
“Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” he wrote on X.
“Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now,” Musk added in a follow-up post.
Elsewhere, Trump’s MAGA allies ranged from furious to deeply discouraged.
“I hate to say it, but America is over,” Laura Loomer said.
“The communists and jihadists are going to open our borders and replace our votes with votes from illegal aliens. We now have representatives who openly speak about their hatred of America, their love of communism and their support for sharia law.”
“We won’t be able to undo the damage they cause to our country come 2028. America 250 was a funeral. The American Dream is dead.”
Chris Christie, a former Trump ally who later became a critic of the president from the right, pronounced the result the end of the Trump era.
Chris Christie, a former Trump ally turned conservative critic, said the results marked the end of the Trump era
Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, once among Trump’s closest allies, said the results were deserved after his first two years of a second term
“When you put Darline Graham losing, Paxton losing and now Abbott losing, the Trump era is over. It is over. You cannot lose at this level,” Christie said on ABC News.
“We’re looking at maybe 240 seats in the House. The Democrats appear to be headed to a majority in the Senate, and I think you’re going to wind up with near-27 Democratic governors. The Trump era is over, and when Greg Abbott, who was extraordinarily popular as a three-term governor, loses tonight in a state like Texas, I don’t care what the president says on Truth Social. The Trump era is over.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former congresswoman who was once one of Trump’s strongest allies, described the outcome as a deserved rebuke after the first two years of his second term.
“Trump’s biggest betrayal of the American people isn’t what he failed to do. It’s what he promised NOT to do… and did anyway,” she wrote.
“We gave President Trump our support, our money, our vote and our time. We stood behind him publicly, and he didn’t deliver. President Trump only delivered for his rich, powerful elite friends who are part of the Epstein class. He delivered for high-dollar donors, Big Tech friends, foreign countries and foreign wars. Americans are fed up with it.”
Matt Walsh, a longtime Trump supporter, blamed the president’s actions in Iran directly for the Republican collapse.
“The Iran War is the greatest political blunder in the last two decades at least. A catastrophically stupid decision. An unforgivable betrayal of America First principles,” he said.
Sean Hannity, one of Trump’s most prominent allies in conservative media, also pointed to the decision to attack Iran.
Sean Hannity, one of Trump’s most loyal conservative-media allies, blamed the president’s decision to attack Iran
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“I think 100 percent. I don’t think there’s any doubt about it,” Hannity said when asked whether the Iran War had driven the crushing midterm result.
“Americans are good people with a heart, and they didn’t like some of what they saw. I would argue on Iran, there was, unfortunately, it’s the best thing for our children and grandchildren, but higher gas prices and how people feel, I think, are the dominant forces right now,” he added.
Kristi Noem, the former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, offered a different explanation for the Republican losses.
“Larry Kudlow is correct. We were too successful the first year of the Trump administration,” she wrote. Noem was fired early in Trump’s second year.
Libertarian Congressman Thomas Massie, who lost a primary fight to a Trump-endorsed challenger, placed responsibility squarely on Republicans.
“Tonight’s outcome isn’t about placing faith in Democrats or socialist principles; it’s about holding Republicans accountable for betraying their promises. All Republicans had to do was: 1. put Americans First. 2. not start another war. 3. prosecute sex traffickers.”
Scott Jennings, CNN’s most prominent Republican commentator and a one-time contender to become White House press secretary, acknowledged the severity of the defeat.
“Well, look, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. There’s a political science term for what’s happening. It’s called a country a**-whooping. That’s what’s happening right now, across the board.”
Kristi Noem, the former homeland security secretary, offered a different explanation for the Republican losses
“There are a lot, a lot, a lot of reasons for what’s happening right now. The most immediate issue is the cost of living and gas prices. And that is the bottom line,” Jennings continued.
The president faced an election-night nightmare Tuesday as Democrats moved closer to taking the House in a devastating setback that threatened to cripple the final two years of his presidency.
Republicans were preparing for a possible rout after Democrats captured the first major Senate battleground of the night, with former North Carolina governor Roy Cooper taking a crucial seat from the GOP.
The win turned the Tar Heel State blue and delivered another warning to Trump as Republicans struggled to avoid a sweeping midterm defeat.
Democrats needed to flip four Republican-held seats to take control of the Senate and just three seats to gain a House majority.
Voters turned out in large numbers, focusing on issues including living costs and the war in Iran, as disorder and confusion unfolded across several key battleground states.
Trump officials initially breathed a sigh of relief after leading Republican candidates secured narrow victories in Florida, providing an early boost to the party.
That optimism faded after major Republican defeats in Texas.
Incumbent Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was running for the Senate, both suffered decisive losses.
Trump lashed out at Abbott on Truth Social, accusing him of becoming a “RINO,” or Republican in name only.
“If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn’t become a RINO in the last six months of his political life, he wouldn’t have lost,” Trump wrote.
“He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!”
Trump had endorsed Republican candidates in several pivotal contests, including South Carolina, where Darline Graham, the sister of longtime Senator Lindsey Graham, lost her bid for the seat.
Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, defeated Graham to become the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in South Carolina since 1998.
Her victory came despite three recent visits by Trump to the state to support her campaign. Andrews also led in traditionally Republican areas, including Greenville County.
In neighboring North Carolina, former Democratic governor Roy Cooper defeated Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman, for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis.
Elon Musk, who is often credited with providing the money and influence behind Trump’s 2024 victory, joked about the Republican losses Tuesday
Matt Walsh, a longtime Trump supporter, attributed the defeat largely to Trump’s actions in Iran
It marked the state’s first Democratic Senate victory since 2008 and handed the opposition a second Republican-held seat.
Republicans also failed to defeat Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, who turned back Trump-backed Congressman Mike Collins to win a second term.
Ossoff was the only Democratic incumbent defending a Senate seat in a state carried by Trump in 2024, making his victory a major missed opportunity for Republicans.
Republican candidate Michael Whatley also lost his Senate race in North Carolina.
Trump spent much of Tuesday urging voters to back Republican candidates, but his efforts failed to produce the turnout he had hoped for.
A Trump adviser told Our News Outlet that Republicans had not managed to mobilize the same coalition that carried Trump to victory in 2024.
“Republicans have had ten years to figure out how to draw those low-propensity Trump voters to the polls. If they can’t get it done, they deserved to lose.”
Trump spent the previous 32 days holding 30 events across 20 states on behalf of Republican candidates. His MAGA Inc. PAC spent more than $370 million supporting Republicans.
One Trump insider said the results were disappointing but noted that the president had long expressed doubts about whether Republican majorities could survive the midterms.
The White House legal team has been preparing for a wave of investigations by newly empowered Democrats during the next congressional term.
“I fully expect the president to dig in and fight, fight, fight,” the insider said. “He’s been through this before.”
