Trump admits election results not good for Republicans
Trump has conceded that the Democrats’slew of poll wins on Tuesday night spell bad news for his Repubican Party.
Washington (dpa) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday admitted that the results of a slate of US elections, which saw Democrats sweep major races, was bad for his Republican Party.
"Last night, it was, you know, not expected to be a victory, it was very Democrat areas, but I don't think it was good for Republicans," he said during a meeting at the White House with senators from the party.
"I'm not sure it was good for anybody," Trump said. "But we had an interesting evening, and we learned a lot, and we're going to talk about that."
The president's comments came just hours after Democratic candidates in Tuesday's races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey won decisive victories over their Republican opponents.
Must needed boost for centre-left
The wins give the centre-left party a much-needed shot of momentum ahead of next year's mid-term elections for the US Congress, where they hope to flip at least one chamber from the Republicans.
Focus was also on New York City, where Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral race. Mamdani, who identifies as a democratic socialist, will be the city's first Muslim mayor and the youngest person to hold the position since the 19th century.
Trump had tried to insert himself into the contest, warning that if the "communist candidate" won, he would restrict federal funding for the nation's most populous city. Voters appeared to shrug off the threat.
The president, who has repeatedly criticized Mamdani, made no mention of his victory at the White House talks.
Trump blames shutdown
He said that, according to pollsters, the ongoing government shutdown may have been a negative factor for Republicans on Election Day.
The shutdown, which was triggered by Congress' failure to pass a budget, has seen hundreds of thousands of federal employees either furloughed or working without pay.
He also cited pollsters as saying that the biggest reason for the Republican Party’s poor showing was his own absence from the ballot.
Exactly one year ago, Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.