NOVEMBER 3, 2026 will be a day to remember for all and sundry for a long time. It will be remembered by Democrats for making a historic comeback in many States, particularly in Texas- the largest and most important one as they regained the governorship of that State along with the winning of a seat in US Senate. Three Muslims of Pakistani origin were also the winners in State House and Congress. Equally important was the win of an Egyptian-origin Muslim from Michigan State whom Trump mocked in the election campaign. In rest of the States, Democrats defeated strong Trump-nominees by a big margin to turn the tables on Trump and Republican Party. Some analysts expected such results in view of Trump’s domestic and particularly foreign policies and all-out support for Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu whose party also suffered defeat in the Israeli elections, held last week.
The election results represent not merely a major setback for the Republican Party but also a clear rejection of the arrogant, biased and misguided mindset of those who place excessive faith in military power and technological superiority while ignoring ground realities and the capabilities of their adversaries. They seem to have forgotten the old maxim: “It is not the gun but the man behind the gun” that matters. Israel succeeded in drawing the United States into a war that was never its own, turning the Arabian Peninsula into a battlefield while continuing its devastating assault on innocent Palestinians and territorial expansion in Gaza and Lebanon. However, conscientious and prudent American voters have delivered a strong message against policies that disregard humanity, justice and the rule of law.
The Republican defeat was more than a repudiation of Donald Trump; it was a referendum on the political and cultural movement he built. MAGA (Make America Great Again), once a defining force in American politics since Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, now faces a serious political reckoning. Disillusionment over soaring fuel prices, the Iran war and alleged corruption in Washington contributed to Democrats securing decisive congressional majorities. The White House offered little explanation for the defeat, while Trump insisted that Republicans would have won had he personally been on the ballot. Although he acknowledged that the Iran war had driven up gasoline prices and hurt Republicans electorally, he maintained that he would make the same decision again, reflecting his reluctance to acknowledge depth of public dissatisfaction.
Republicans failed miserably to get any message across to voters that would have persuaded a majority to vote for their candidates. One reason for the debacle was that too many GOP candidates ran on fear – fear of socialism, fear of “jihadis” (a slap at Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed). Donald Trump said that growing dislike of Israel among American voters was one of the main reasons for the Republican Party’s sweeping defeat in the midterm elections, alongside the war with Iran and rising gasoline prices.
In an extensive interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, conducted by correspondent Ross Douthat at the White House a few days back Trump offered his most detailed public assessment yet of the election results, which cost Republicans control of both chambers of Congress. Asked to explain the defeat, Trump insisted that his personal popularity remained strong and suggested that Republican candidates had failed to translate his support into votes. Trump argued that the war with Iran had driven fuel prices higher, even as he maintained that preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons remained essential. “Because I think everyone agrees that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he said. However Trump now admits that Americans have ‘great and incredible dislike for Israel”.
According to BBC, the Democrats sweeping to victory in the US midterm elections and taking control of Congress is being viewed as a resounding rejection of Donald Trump’s two years in the White House. From angry voters to an unpopular president, there are multiple reasons why the Republicans lost so many seats,, major being War with Iran, wholehearted support for Israel, rising gas(Petrol) prices, persisting and rising inflation, erosion of buying power of common American and tough policy on Immigration and role of ICE, which has back fired. From coast to coast, voters across the US have been grappling with the soaring cost of essentials. That anger was palpable on the ground in key races.
“Gas prices, grocery prices, everything’s going up,” one North Carolina voter told the BBC ahead of the elections, adding that she had switched her vote from Republican to Democratic this election. Prices increased by 3.7% in the year to September, driven higher by fuel and energy prices. Average US retail diesel prices in early October were just shy of the record of $6.52 per gallon, seen in September, according to government data. Almost eight in 10 voters (79%) said inflation had caused them and their family a severe or moderate hardship in the past year, according to data from voter polls.
Trump still defends Iran War, says he may have been ‘too tough’ on immigration. Republicans’ midterm drubbing hasn’t shaken President Trump’s view that his record is strong, though he acknowledged he may have gone too far in one area. In a 60 Minutes interview with a popular Journal, his first big sit-down since Election Day, he pinned GOP losses on backlash to the Iran War and high gas prices, but also argued Republicans suffered because “I was not on the ballot.” He called his Administration’s economic results “phenomenal” and blamed “bad messaging” for voter dissatisfaction with the economy, while predicting Americans will soon feel the benefits, meaning that the Utopia, he is living in, has neither faded nor likely to fade any soon.
—The writer is Former Civil Servant and Consultant (ILO) & International Organisation for Migration and author of seven books.
