Donald Trump Tells Politico 'I Wasn't on the Ballot' After GOP Midterm Losses

President Donald Trump said on election night that he "wasn't on the ballot" and that Republicans would have won "very easily" if he had been. Democrats were projected to win control of both the House and the Senate.

Trump made the remarks in a phone call with Politico's Dasha Burns as the results came in. For months before the vote, he had told rally crowds to vote as though his name were on the ballot.

"I wasn't on the ballot and we didn't get the people out, but I wasn't on the ballot. If I was on the ballot, we would have won. We would have won it all very easily," Trump said.

Burns pressed him: "you told voters that you were on the ballot to go vote as though you were on the ballot."

"Yeah, I said, say you're on the ballot. Think about me being on the ballot, but they didn't agree. And they didn't like the candidates in most cases. Just one of those things," Trump replied, adding: "Many people elected, by the way, too, but you know, not enough."

Trump Declines to Blame Republican Candidates

When Burns asked whether any candidates had not done enough, Trump said, "No, I don't want to blame anybody," and added that he had "watched with great interest, learned from it."

Several of the night's biggest Republican losses were his own picks, though. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whom Trump endorsed on Truth Social in May over Sen. John Cornyn, lost the Texas Senate race to Democrat James Talarico. Sen. Darline Graham of South Carolina, appointed to the seat after her brother, Lindsey Graham, died, was campaigned for by Trump and lost to Democrat Annie Andrews. Andy Biggs, the Trump-endorsed Republican for Arizona governor, lost to Gov. Katie Hobbs.

'Pretend I'm on the Ballot': What Trump Said Before the Midterms

At a South Carolina rally for Graham in the late summer, NPR reported, he told supporters, "Pretend please, that I am on the ballot. Just come and vote."

How Big Were the Republican Losses?

As of early Wednesday, Democrats were projected to win the House with at least 250 seats, and House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would not run for minority leader.

In the Senate, Democrats have at least 54 seats. They flipped Republican seats in Texas, South Carolina, Kansas, Maine, Iowa, Ohio and North Carolina, while races in Alaska and Mississippi remain uncalled.

Trump went into the election as an unpopular president. His approval stood at 38.3 percent, with 58.6 percent disapproving, in PolitiKool's polling average as of Tuesday.

Midterms usually go badly for the president's party. A Gallup analysis found that presidents with approval below 50 percent have seen their party lose an average of 37 House seats, compared with 14 seats for presidents above 50 percent.

Trump Says Democrats 'Already Called'

Trump spent much of the call on the next two years. "They've already called and they want to work with me. I have the right to veto everything, but I don't want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything," he said.

He would not say whether Hakeem Jeffries had called. A lot of Democrats called me."

"We have a powerful veto power, the ultimate. It's the ultimate power," Trump said. Asked about a possible immigration deal with Democrats, he said, "No. Consider doing whatever I think is appropriate and good for the country."

What Happens Next

Asked about 2028 and potential successors such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, Trump said it was "a long way off."

His message to his own party was short: "All they have to do is come together."