Trump Questions Whether the Midterm Elections Were Honest After GOP Loses Congress

President Donald Trump on Monday cast doubt on the integrity of the November 3 midterm elections, reviving the kind of voting-machine claims he made after his 2020 defeat. The post came six days after Republicans lost control of both the House and the Senate, and it marked a sharp turn from the conciliatory tone he struck on election night.

"Does anybody really believe that this 'Election' was honest," Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to CNBC and Newsweek. He argued that the polls had been wrong and added: "It's all about the machines, which are far more important than the voter!" Both outlets reported that he offered no evidence that voting equipment had affected the outcome.

A week-long shift in tone

On election night, Trump told The New York Times he was "absolutely willing" to accept the results and said he would work with Democrats. A day later he said he would "get along probably with the Democrats unless they want to be destructive."

Over the weekend, the message began to change. Newsweek reported that on Saturday the president shared other users' posts questioning Democratic vote totals, including in Texas, without calling the election dishonest himself. On Sunday he wrote that America had taken a "giant step back in History" with the results. By Monday, he was openly asking whether the vote had been honest.

What the results show

Counts compiled from Associated Press race calls and cited by major U.S. outlets show a decisive Democratic night. As of November 9:

• Senate: Democrats hold at least 54 seats to Republicans' 44, with the races in Alaska and Mississippi still uncalled.
• House: Democrats have 254 seats to the GOP's 163, well past the 218 needed for a majority, with 18 races outstanding.
• History: since 1946, the president's party has lost House seats in 18 of 20 midterm elections.

The 120th Congress is due to convene on January 3, 2027, after states finish counting and certify their results.

Reaction and the voting itself

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, expected to become majority leader in January, responded that "Donald Trump's pathetic return to election denialism was inevitable." He said the president would spend his final two years facing the largest Democratic congressional majorities in decades.

Election officials have not reported widespread problems. According to Newsweek, the most notable issues on Election Day involved weather and equipment: ballot scanners malfunctioned in Westchester County, New York, which officials attributed to a programming update, and polling hours were extended at several locations in Pennsylvania and North Carolina after technical glitches.

Why it matters

After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump claimed without evidence that fraud had cost him the race. Dozens of legal challenges failed, and the claims helped set the stage for the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, which disrupted the certification of Biden's victory.

This time Trump was not on the ballot, and the immediate stakes are different: power in Congress is shifting to the opposition regardless of what he says. But the president's doubts about the vote could sour relations with the incoming Democratic majorities just as the White House needs them for spending bills, nominations and any legislative agenda. For U.S. allies, including Ukraine, it means Washington's major decisions in 2027 and 2028 will be made under divided government, where the working relationship between the White House and Capitol Hill carries extra weight.

The White House did not specify which machines or jurisdictions the president was referring to.