Topline
President Donald Trump responded Tuesday night to the Democratic Party’s dominant performance — winning all the night’s major races — in the first major election since returning to the White House by suggesting that the Republican Party’s poor performance was the result of his name not appearing on the ballot and the prolonged government shutdown.
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Key facts
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “’TRUMP WAS NOT ON THE BALLOT, AND THE EXCLUSION WAS THE TWO REASONS REPUBLICANS LOST TONIGHT’S ELECTION,’ Pollsters Say.”
Trump did not specify which “pollsters” he quoted in his post, but many of the candidates who lost key races Tuesday night were endorsed by the president, including the Republican Party’s gubernatorial candidate in New Jersey. Jack Ciatarelliand candidate for mayor of New York Andreas Cuomo.
The chairman too doubled to his demand that Senate Republicans “END THE FILIBUSTER! RETURN TO LEGISLATION AND VOTER REFORM.”
Last week, Trump had said the Republican Party could end the shutdown by using the “nuclear option” and abolishing the filibuster.
In one follow up postTrump clarified what he meant by the voter report, writing: “Enact voter reform, voter ID, no mail-in ballots. Save our Supreme Court from ‘packing,’ no adding two states, etc.”
The president made another cryptic post a short time later: proverb: “…AND SO IT BEGINS!”
What Did Trump Say About the Filibuster?
In a lengthy post Tuesday morning, Trump said repeated his complaints about the filibuster, saying, “The Democrats are much more likely to win the Midterms and the next presidential elections if we don’t end the Filibuster (the nuclear option!), because it will be impossible for Republicans to complete common sense policies while these deranged Democratic lunatics can block everything by withholding their votes.” The post then repeated many of the claims he made last week, saying Democrats wanted to end the filibuster when they were in power because they knew it would give them “tremendous power.” Noting that this was opposed by former Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Trump added, “Now WE are in power, and if we did what we were supposed to do,” Trump suggested that by getting rid of the filibuster, Republicans could end the government shutdown.
Tangent
In his victory speech on Tuesday night, newly elected New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called out the president directly, saying: “Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn up the volume.” He then added: “New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and starting tonight, led by an immigrant… So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: to reach any of us, you will have to get through all of us.” After the results of California’s ballot measure were announced, Governor Gavin Newsom said, “We are proud of the work the people of California did today to send a strong message to a historic president. Donald Trump is a historic president; he is historically the most unpopular president in modern history.”
Read more
California Voters Approve New Congressional Map Favoring Democrats (Forbes)
NYC Mayoral Race (live updates): Mamdani wins and calls it a “mandate for change” (Forbes)
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