'I wasn't on ballot': Trump shrugs of midterm drubbing, shares photo of what's to come

The defiant response came as Democrats appeared poised to take control of the House of Representatives

US President Donald Trump struck a defiant tone after Democrats made major gains in the 2026 US midterm elections. The POTUS claimed that Republicans would have won in a "landslide" had he been on the ballot."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 in a post on Truth Social.During several rallies for Republican candidates, Trump had told voters to "pretend" he was on the ballot and vote.

Speaking to Fox News' Peter Doocy, a White House official said that the mood inside the White House was defiant on Tuesday, arguing that Trump himself was not on the ballot despite repeatedly urging voters in several states to treat the midterm elections as a referendum on his presidency.

The official also suggested that Trump's supporters were more likely to turn out when the president was directly on the ballot. Defending the Republican performance, the official said Trump had done a better job promoting several Republican candidates than the candidates had done themselves, pointing to the quality of candidates as another factor in the results."Regardless of how today plays out," the official said, Trump's determination to confront the "Radical Left" would only grow stronger.

"Buckle up."The defiant response came as Democrats appeared poised to take control of the House of Representatives, with CNN's Decision Desk projecting a victory for the party. The outcome would give Democrats the power to launch an extensive congressional oversight agenda targeting the Trump administration during the final two years of Trump's term.The results also put Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on course to potentially become the first Black speaker of the House, although he would still need to secure the position through a floor vote when the new Congress convenes.