Trump Reacts to the Midterm Results
President Trump addressed the midterm election results directly, saying he was "a little bit surprised that Republicans didn't do better."
"I think my level of popularity maybe is higher now than it was... it feels to me that it would be higher," Trump said, striking a tone at odds with the scale of the Republican losses on November 3.
What Happened on November 3
Democrats swept the 2026 midterms. They expanded their Senate majority to 55 seats and took a House majority of roughly 228 seats, flipping the Texas Senate seat and the Texas governor's office, along with the Kansas Senate seat, in a broad repudiation of the administration.
The losses have already reshaped Washington. Trump named Stephen Miller White House chief of staff on November 6, replacing Susie Wiles, with the change effective November 9. Democrats, meanwhile, have vowed to impeach Trump officials and investigate Republican donors, setting up a confrontational two years.
Trump has separately said the midterms were "not honest," and his latest comments suggest he is not attributing the result to his own standing with voters.
Options and Market Impact
A Democratic Congress changes the policy map for markets. Tax, energy, and healthcare legislation now runs through committees Democrats control, and impeachment fights add headline volatility without a clear directional trade. Sectors that rallied on deregulation expectations, including financials and energy, face a less friendly legislative path for the next two years.
Traders should watch broad index flow for positioning shifts around congressional investigations and any administration response. Names tied to federal policy, from defense contractors to healthcare insurers, are the most exposed to the new balance of power in Washington.
Bottom Line
Trump's surprise at the midterm result underscores the gap between the White House's read of his popularity and what voters delivered on November 3: a 55-seat Democratic Senate and a Democratic House. Markets now have to price two years of divided, adversarial government.
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