President Donald Trump is once again casting doubt on the legitimacy of an election after Republicans suffered major losses in the midterms.
Trump questioned the results Monday, six days after Democrats won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Republican defeats included losses in several states traditionally viewed as strongholds for the party, including Texas and South Carolina.
“Does anybody really believe that this ‘Election’ was honest?” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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He also questioned why polling had failed to predict the results and suggested that voting machines, rather than voters, played the decisive role.
“How could the Polls be so wrong?” Trump wrote. “Some early voting ‘dumps’ were so large that it was impossible to win, no matter how many people went to vote. It’s all about the machines, which are far more important than the voter!”
Trump’s comments represented a sharp shift from the more conciliatory tone he adopted immediately after Election Day. On election night, he told The New York Times that he was “absolutely willing” to accept the results and work with Democrats.
“We’ll, you know, look forward to working with them,” Trump said. “We’ll probably work something out.”
The following day, Trump again suggested that cooperation could be possible.
“I’ll get along probably with the Democrats unless they want to be destructive,” he said.
His later return to election-related accusations drew criticism from Democrats, who said the president was repeating the same pattern that followed his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who could become Senate majority leader in January, accused Trump of returning to election denialism.
“Donald Trump’s pathetic return to election denialism was inevitable,” Schumer wrote on X.
“He can whine all he wants, but nothing will stop this inescapable truth: For the last two years of his presidency, Trump will face the largest Democratic congressional majorities in decades, all because he has been an unprecedented failure,” Schumer added.
Trump has a long history of disputing election results when Republican candidates perform poorly. After losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden, he repeatedly claimed—without evidence—that widespread fraud had cost him the presidency.
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His claims led to dozens of unsuccessful lawsuits challenging election procedures and vote counts. They also helped fuel the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, when a mob of Trump supporters attempted to disrupt Congress as lawmakers formally certified Biden’s Electoral College victory.
The attack interrupted the joint session of Congress for several hours. Congress later completed the certification process, confirming Biden as president.
Critics of Trump’s latest comments noted that his political record complicates the argument that voting machines or election systems are responsible for Republican losses. Trump lost the 2020 election while he was president, but won the 2024 presidential election while Biden occupied the White House.
They also pointed to the states where Republicans suffered unexpected defeats during the midterms. Democratic candidates won major victories in places such as Texas, Kansas, South Carolina, and Iowa—states that many analysts had considered favorable to Republicans.
Those results suggest that the midterm losses were broad rather than limited to one region or one contested race. Democrats now have control of Congress, giving them the ability to hold hearings, conduct investigations, block nominees, and challenge major elements of Trump’s agenda.
Trump’s questioning of the results could further intensify tensions between the White House and the newly empowered Democratic majority. Democrats have already signaled that they plan to investigate the administration, including its policies, financial dealings, and use of executive power.
The president’s post also raised concerns among election officials and voting experts, who have repeatedly said that there is no evidence that voting machines were used to alter the outcome of national elections. Trump did not provide evidence to support his allegations about early-voting “dumps” or election equipment. The White House has not released additional information explaining Trump’s claims.
Meanwhile, Democrats are preparing to take control of Congress and are expected to use their new majority to scrutinize the administration for the final two years of Trump’s presidency.