Trump grapples with political setback after Democrats ride voter fury over prices [View all]

Source: Reuters

November 5, 2025 6:08 PM EST Updated 47 mins ago


WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - It's been a year since Donald Trump's decisive win in the 2024 presidential election, and the White House had planned an anniversary rollout on Wednesday highlighting the promises kept by the Republican leader since he returned to office.

Instead, the president and his Republican allies were left grappling with a string of Democratic victories in off-year elections, a rare setback for Trump as voters in a handful of states signaled resistance to his agenda.

Trump, known for resisting defeat, reacted predictably. He blamed Democrats for a government shutdown - the longest in U.S. history - that he said contributed to his party's losses, cajoled Republicans to change Senate rules to make it easier to pass his agenda and distanced himself from the results by noting the absence of his own name on the ballot.

But he also acknowledged that the night had not gone well for Republicans and, somewhat uncharacteristically, suggested they had lessons to learn from their loss. “Exactly one year ago we had that big beautiful victory," Trump told lawmakers from his party at the White House early on Wednesday. "And last night was not expected to be a victory. I don't think it was good for Republicans."

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/trump-grapples-with-political-setback-after-democrats-ride-voter-fury-over-2025-11-05/