Donald Trump fumes as Republicans trounced in US elections – and hints at chilling response

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Donald Trump fumed as Republicans were roundly humiliated in last night’s US elections – losing race after race to Democrat candidates.

And he gave a chilling indication of how he’ll respond to the drubbing.

Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump pointed to polling that suggested people’s failure to vote Republican was down, in part to him not being on the ballot.

And he appeared to accept that the government shutdown, which is into its second month, had hurt the Republican party at the polls.

He wrote: “TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,” according to Pollsters.”

Trump is never legally allowed to be “on the ballot” again – but the message will be seen as an acknowledgement that his party has a problem without him.

But he and his allies have repeatedly teased the idea of him standing for or serving a third term in office – something illegal under the US constitution, but which Trump has failed to rule out trying to pursue.

His Truth Social post last night will be seen as a message to Republicans that their only future is with him at the top of the ticket.

Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York mayoral election is likely to particularly infuriate Trump.

The US President had repeatedly threatened to cut off federal funding to his home town, should the left-wing Democrat be elected.

Zohran Mamdani, 34 – the youngest New York mayor in more than a century, and the city’s first Muslim mayor – harnessed enthusiasm, optimism and social media savvy to become a rising star in the contest.

It was a night of victories for Democrats – and a string of upsets for Trump’s Republicans.

Across the state line in New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill was elected Governor.

Sherrill defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who was endorsed by Trump. The race was closely watched as a potential bellwether for next year’s midterm elections.

In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger was elected Governor – becoming the commonwealth’s first woman chief executive.

Democrats also won the elections for Lt Governor and Attorney General in Virginia.

This was the first major election day since Trump returned to the White House. And voters rejected candidates aligned with Trump’s Republican Party from Virginia to Pennsylvania to New Jersey.

They also expressed strong feelings about the direction of the country under his leadership.

About 6 in 10 voters in Virginia and New Jersey said they are “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the way things are going in the country today, according to the AP Voter Poll. Just one-third said they are “enthusiastic” or “satisfied.”

About half of California voters described themselves as “angry” about the direction of the country, with another 2 in 10 saying they were “dissatisfied.”

In a sign of the extent of the GOP’s struggles, Republicans lost the Virginia attorney general’s race to Democrat Jay Jones, who was forced to apologize after text messages surfaced weeks before Election Day in which he depicted the murder of political opponents.

Fearing a bad night, Trump tried to distance himself from the election results.

The president endorsed Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey’s governor’s race but held only a pair of tele-town halls on his behalf, including one on Monday night.

Trump also did a Monday night tele-town hall for Virginia Republican candidates, but he did not mention Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, speaking mostly in favor of the GOP candidate for attorney general.

Earle-Sears was nonetheless a fierce defender of Trump, just as Ciattarelli was in New Jersey.

Despite Trump’s distance, his policies — including his “big, beautiful” budget bill and his massive cuts to the federal workforce — played a central role in Virginia, New Jersey and even New York City’s mayoral contests. And the Republicans in each refused to distance themselves from the president or his agenda.