The blue wave has Trump panicking

A blue wave crashed down on Tuesday’s elections. Democrats swept key races across the country, delivering a stinging rebuke of President Donald Trump’s second term and a burst of momentum heading into next year’s midterm elections. And by Wednesday morning, Trump was rattled.

Over breakfast with Senate Republicans, the president vented about the ongoing government shutdown—now the longest in U.S. history—and blamed it for the GOP’s poor showing at the polls. 

“I don’t think it was good for Republicans. I’m not sure it was good for anybody,” he said. “But we had an interesting evening, and we learned a lot, and we’re going to talk about that.”

According to The New York Times, Trump told senators he believed the shutdown had cost Republicans several key races. 

“I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor,” he said, noting that he himself hadn’t been on the ballot.

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Publicly, Trump downplayed expectations, claiming Tuesday’s contests were in heavily Democratic areas. Still, he conceded the results were bad news for his party. He told his fellow Republicans that they would discuss “what last night represented and what we should do about it” once the press left the room.

Somewhere between self-reflection and finger-pointing, Trump again tried to shift blame to Democrats for the shutdown—but he complained that voters weren’t buying it. 

“I don’t think they’re getting really the blame that they should,” he told the senators.

That wasn’t his only gripe. Trump also renewed his push to scrap the Senate filibuster, insisting it was the only way to reopen the government. 

“It’s time for Republicans to do what they have to do, and that’s terminate the filibuster,” he said. “It’s the only way you can do it. And if you don’t terminate the filibuster, you’ll be in bad shape. We won’t pass any legislation.”

Trump accused Democrats of showing zero interest in ending the shutdown and rejected any notion that Tuesday’s results might nudge him toward compromise. His solution instead: Blow up one of the Senate’s most entrenched rules. But most Republicans aren’t interested. They’ve long treated the 60-vote filibuster as a cornerstone of the chamber—and, privately, as a guardrail against Trump’s political whiplash.

Meanwhile, Democrats see little reason to bend. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to Trump on Wednesday, demanding a bipartisan meeting to reopen the government and “decisively address” health care. 

“Democrats stand ready to meet with you face to face, anytime and anyplace,” they wrote.

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Tuesday’s results only strengthen their hand. Voters across the East Coast handed Democrats victories up and down the ballot—a vivid sign of discontent with Trump nearly a year into his second term.

In Virginia, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger was elected governor, capping one of the best nights Democrats have had there in years. In New Jersey, Rep. Mikie Sherrill stopped the GOP’s recent advance, defeating former state lawmaker Jack Ciattarelli to take the governor’s seat. And in New York City, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the second time this year—first in the primary, then in the general election, with Cuomo running as an independent backed by Trump. 

The ideological mix of those wins—from moderates to socialists—won’t end the party’s long-running identity fight. But their campaigns had one clear through line: fierce opposition to Trump.

Now, the question is whether Republicans will heed Trump’s advice. The Senate has refused to advance the House-passed bill to reopen the government—its 14th failure in a row—and while some senators hint at progress behind the scenes, others say Tuesday’s results could harden Democrats’ resolve.

And it should. Tuesday’s blue wave was a warning shot—and Republicans know it. Trump’s rattled, the Senate’s stuck, and the midterms are coming fast.

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