Democrats Win House and Senate in Midterms; Trump and Republicans Dispute Who Is to Blame

Democrats won control of both the U.S. House and Senate in Tuesday's 2026 midterm elections, flipping at least seven Republican-held Senate seats and more than two dozen House districts, according to projections reported on Election Night. President Donald Trump told Fox News Channel during its live coverage that he was surprised by the Republican results but confident he could work with Democrats. He said he would veto bills Democrats send him, predicting that after a couple of months of vetoes they would ask how to get things done and the parties would cooperate. Late Tuesday he posted an image of a red veto hat on Truth Social. Trump acknowledged that rising gasoline prices tied to the conflict with Iran likely contributed to the losses. He also attributed the sweeping defeats to not being on the ballot, but other Republicans dismissed that and blamed him. Trump has also directed blame at candidates he previously endorsed, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Fox News, on the right, leads with Trump's veto pledge and his admission that gas prices were partly to blame, built around his Election Night interview and the seat totals. It stresses his readiness to work with Democrats. The Daily Wire frames the night as a defeat for the whole party: good and bad candidates, Iran War supporters and critics of the president, incumbents and outsiders all lost. Neither right-leaning outlet, in the excerpts, centers Republican criticism of Trump. The New York Times, on the left, leads with the finger-pointing, saying party members rejected Trump's not-on-the-ballot explanation and blamed him directly. MS NOW mocks the idea of Trump blaming Fox News. All sides agree Republicans lost heavily and that Trump's explanations are contested. They differ on whether the story is Trump's cooperative, veto-focused response or Republicans turning on him. NewsNation largely tracks the left but adds the detail that Trump blamed Abbott.