Top polling analyst pushes idea that Trump may just flat out ‘quit’ as president after disastrous midterms

Pollster and analyst Nate Silver suggested on the Still Counting podcast that President Donald Trump might look for an excuse to step down after Republicans took heavy losses in the November 3 midterms. Silver, who had called Democratic takeovers of both the House and Senate correctly, offered it as a hunch, saying Trump could become very isolated. Nothing indicates Trump is weighing such a move, and Richard Nixon in 1974 remains the only president ever to resign, according to The Independent.

Silver's remarks grew out of a discussion of Vice President JD Vance, who blamed the Iran war for the defeat. Some observers saw that as Vance putting distance between himself and Trump, and Silver said the pair's relationship deserves watching, since presidents and their deputies have rarely been rivals lately.

Trump himself has seemed unbothered. On election night he told Fox News the war may have hurt but insisted entering it was correct, faulted GOP candidates and offered to work with Democrats. Meanwhile, The Independent reports that he has asked advisors whether to fire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on resignation watch. A White House spokesperson denied both accounts.

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