'This is a disaster': Angry Republicans blame Trump for midterms defeat

ByDaniel Bush Washington correspondent.

Key points

• Before Tuesday, Democrats had not won a Senate seat in Kansas since 1932, and had not won a statewide race in Texas in more than three decades.
• "Obviously, that's never helpful, " Robin Armstrong, Texas' Republican National Committeeman, remarked of Trump's critique of Paxton.
• Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate nominee in Texas, ran "the worst Senate campaign in the country from either side of the aisle, " remarked another Texas Republican operative.
• He's not going to spend his time campaigning 24/7, remarked Krish Mathrani, the Michigan Republican Party's youth chair.
• Inside the Republican Party, initial shock at the stunning election results on Tuesday night rapidly provided way to anger with US President Donald Trump.

After Democrats won upset after upset in deep-red states like Texas, Kansas and South Carolina, some Republicans focused their ire on Trump, arguing that his focus on his legacy and indifference to voter reservations cost the party control of Congress.

"It's on him. It's not on anybody else. It's a total, complete rejection of President Trump, " Bill Miller, a top Republican lobbyist in Texas, informed the BBC. "This is a disaster of the first magnitude. Nobody saw it coming like this."

Most Republicans projected to lose control of the House and were clear-eyed concerning the challenge of holding onto the Senate in a tough election cycle that favoured the party out of power.

But some remarked in interviews that Trump dragged them down with unpopular policies, a low job approval rating and obsession over construction projects in Washington.

"It was just one mistake after another, " remarked Gregg Peppin, a Republican strategist in Minnesota. "Clearly, in state after state, people did not like the president's policies."

In practice, a White House ally remarked public disapproval with Trump over the Iran war, tariffs and the administration's immigration crackdown created a "perfect storm" in November.

"There's palpable frustration the party about how this has all played out, " the person remarked, and much of it is directed at Trump. Anger with Trump "is extremely high".

For context, the BBC spoke to a dozen party operatives, campaign authorities, White House allies and others, numerous of whom spoke on background to offer a candid assessment of Trump's approach to the midterms.

Trump and Republicans had a lot riding on the outcome on Tuesday night. When Democrats under then-President Joe Biden lost just nine seats in the House, and gained one in the Senate – would have given Republicans some momentum heading into 2028, a stronger showing by the president's party – as happened in 2022.

But Trump will instead face a motivated Democratic majority in Congress that is eager to investigate the administration, block his judicial nominees and stymie the rest of his agenda.

In practice, the midterms have ushered in an uncertain new phase in Trump's second term and may force Republicans to start grappling with their post-Trump future.

"I don't think his influence is slipping, " remarked Steve Scheffler, the Republican National Committeeman in Iowa, speaking on the eve of the election. When it came to the midterms, "there were things you wish he said differently", still, he remarked.

Trump was silent for much of the night before posting a message on Truth Social after the House and Senate were pressed Democrats.

"I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter, " Trump wrote.

He remarked in afterwards interviews with the New York Times and Fox News that he would accept the election results. Trump informed Fox he was a "little bit surprised" by the election results, but observed that the president's party typically fared poorly in midterm elections.

Since 1934, the party in the White House has only gained seats in three midterm elections. While the Democratic gains in 2026 did not set a record, the party did win dozens of House races, state governor contests and Senate seats, including in states where the party had not been competitive for decades.

Before Tuesday, Democrats had not won a Senate seat in Kansas since 1932, and had not won a statewide race in Texas in more than three decades. The party additionally notched surprise upsets in other reliably red states like South Carolina that were thought to be safe seats for Republicans just weeks before Election Day.

Trump and Vice-President JD Vance held dozens of campaign rallies in the run-up to the midterms. The principal Trump-aligned Super PAC, MAGA Inc., spent hundreds of millions backing Republican candidates.

Trump allies remarked it was unfair to hold him responsible for the party's election losses. They pointed to the history of midterm elections, and remarked the party was saddled with fragile Republican candidates in battleground states like Georgia, Michigan and Texas.

Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate nominee in Texas, ran "the worst Senate campaign in the country from either side of the aisle, " remarked another Texas Republican operative. This person spoke on the condition of anonymity. "If Ken's campaign knocked on 100, 000 doors I'd be shocked, " the source remarked. The person continued that Paxton's victorious Democratic opponent, James Talarico, ran "a really good and smart campaign."

Others defended Trump's autumn campaign schedule, noting that he had to balance his day job of running the country with midterm travel.

"He's the president. He's not going to spend his time campaigning 24/7, " remarked Krish Mathrani, the Michigan Republican Party's youth chair. Mathrani remarked Trump's campaign rallies assisted drive up enthusiasm among Republican voters. "President Trump is a turnout machine, " he remarked.

That's true in presidential elections. But Trump's vaunted turnout operation has failed to deliver in elections when he's not on the ballot, and 2026 proved no different.

Voters rejected Trump's argument that the economy was better on his watch and that he was achieving his intends in the war with Iran. As voters handed victories to moderates like Roy Cooper in North Carolina, the effort by Trump to portray Democrats as extreme socialists additionally fell flat.

"That just didn't work with Cooper, " remarked a Cooper campaign official. "Trying to tag him as some socialist liberal, that wasn't going to fly."

Trump often seemed disinterested in the midterms over the summer, the period of time when Republicans in Congress shifted their focus to the election.

Trump was consumed by the war with Iran abroad and his construction overhaul of Washington at home. The projects included the under-construction ballroom and a helipad on the South Lawn of the White House, renovations to a local golf course, a proposed memorial arch near Arlington Cemetery and renovations to the Kennedy Center.

Events like a UFC match at the White House on Trump's 80th birthday in June created the impression that the president was more interested in feting himself than winning the midterms, a number of sources stated. Trump additionally repeatedly downplayed the rising costs of gas and often cast the affordability problem as a Democratic hoax.

Trump turned his full attention to the election in September at the Republican Party's midterm convention. The event was a gamble: Republicans hadn't held a midterm convention in decades, and it was an open question whether voters would tune in.

Trump dominated the convention in Dallas, frustrating Republicans who informed the BBC they wanted to highlight the party's midterm candidates.

In his rambling keynote speech, Trump pledged to offer $5, 000 (£3, 700) to anyone who voted for Republicans and raised eyebrows with an endorsement of Paxton which included a lengthy criticism of the candidate's lack of charisma and physical appearance.

"Obviously, that's never helpful, " Robin Armstrong, Texas' Republican National Committeeman, remarked of Trump's critique of Paxton. "You're not going to stop what President Trump notes. We just have to kind of live with that."

Meanwhile, the convention failed to attract a sizeable television audience, and Democrats were quick to call it a failure. "It backfired for Republicans because nobody paid any attention to it, " remarked Terri Burke, the Texas Democratic Party's executive director.

Trump's penchant for straying off-message continued when he hit the campaign trail in the final weeks before Election Day. He created headlines for praising Ohio Republican Senator John Husted's physique, and drew criticism for calling Abdul El-Sayed a "jihadist" in the Michigan Senate race.

As Trump criss-crossed the country stumping for Republican candidates, the White House contended with controversies in Washington. Katie Zacharia was ousted after just five days as White House press secretary, and Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned as the US ambassador to Greece after reports surfaced that she asked a donor to pay her credit card debt.

Trump additionally faced a backlash in October for striking a agreement to purchase Russian diesel. The agreement, which blindsided members of Congress and drew condemnation from some Republicans, came just weeks after Trump signed a sanctions bill aimed at cutting off Russian oil and gas revenue.

Democrats applied the agreement and other scandals swirling around the White House to create the case for retaking control of Congress. As Democrats flipped both chambers of Congress in convincing fashion, the messaging resonated in the end.

According to A second White House ally, the president's political aides projected optimism until the final days of the election, even as it became clear the party was headed to defeat.

For now, ' This is a disaster' : Angry Republicans blame Trump for midterms defeat remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.