These midterms could effectively end the Trump era – but neither side is yet ready for what comes next

Polls point to a rough midterm for Republicans. Donald Trump enters the vote with the weakest approval standing of any president at this stage since Harry Truman, and the figure keeps sliding. Democrats are projected to win the national vote by 11 percentage points, and they could take the Senate and a large House majority. Columnist Nesrine Malik argues that this might close the Trump era, though the country left behind will be changed in lasting ways, according to The Guardian.

Malik notes that several Trump moves would be hard to undo: USAID has been dismantled, Doge cut deep into other agencies, global tariffs are in place, ICE has more money and power, and the Iran war looks open-ended. She also cautions that the Maga coalition could survive him, with JD Vance or another successor reusing the same combative pitch.

Democrats, meanwhile, appear unprepared. Malik describes an aging leadership, naming Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton. Michigan shows the strain. Barack Obama has endorsed Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who holds that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. Representative Haley Stevens, whom he narrowly defeated in the primary, criticized him and then endorsed Republican Mike Rogers.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Guardian’s reporting. Read the full story at The Guardian →