Trump ‘wasn’t on the ballot,’ says government shutdown a ‘big factor’ in Tuesday’s election results

President Donald Trump on Wednesday pointed to his absence from the ballot and the government shutdown to explain why Democrats swept Tuesday’s off-year elections.

“Last night was not expected to be a victory. I don’t think it was good for Republicans. I’m not sure it was good for anybody, but we had an interesting evening, and we learned a lot,” Trump said in remarks at a breakfast at the White House on Wednesday with Republican senators.

On Tuesday, Democrats won the governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey, and a Democratic socialist won New York City’s mayoral race. Democrats kept three seats on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court and swept the Virginia House of Delegates. Even disgraced Democratic candidate for Virginia attorney general Jay Jones won his race after nationwide controversy over leaked texts wishing death upon a Republican colleague and his children.

While the election was widely portrayed as a test of Trump’s second term, both Virginia and New Jersey voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 elections, and Trump was not deeply involved in either race, even declining to endorse Virginia’s Republican candidate for governor. In the deeply blue New York City, the mayoral race was expected to be a test of where the Democratic party itself is heading, as moderate Democrat Andrew Cuomo faced off against Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani.  

‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday night, in his initial reaction to the results.  

During Wednesday’s breakfast, Trump said once the press left, senators would discuss “what last night represented, and what we should do about it, and also about the shutdown, how that relates to last night.” 

“I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans. And they say that I wasn’t on the ballot was the biggest factor,” he said, reiterating his Truth Social message. 

In a 20-minute speech, Trump said the government – which has now been shut down for a record-breaking 36 days – needs to reopen “immediately.” 

“We are in the midst of a disaster Democrat-created shutdown, and it is Democrat created, but I don’t think they’re getting the blame that they should,” he said. “That’s now officially the longest shutdown in American history. The Democrat radicals and the Senate have shown zero interest in reopening the government.” 

Trump called on senators to end the filibuster and for voter ID laws to be passed.  

“We should pass all the things that we want to make our election secure and safe, because California is a disaster,” he said, noting the same for other states. “All we want is voter ID. You go to a grocery store, you have to give ID. You go to a gas station, you give ID. But for voting, they want no voter ID.” 

Following breakfast, Trump departed the White House for a trip to Miami, where he is set to deliver remarks at the America Business Forum.