Trump ignores ‘Blue Wave’ in first appearance post election and only talks ballroom construction: Live updates

Democrats captured both chambers of Congress in the midterms, and the aftermath has exposed a split over why Republicans lost. Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that the Iran war was the cause, and Donald Trump Jr. said he strongly agreed. President Donald Trump, asked about Vance's view, said he understood how his vice president felt but considered the outcome fine. He acknowledged expecting the war to affect the vote, yet maintained that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon, according to The Independent.

Trump's first public remarks afterward, delivered at the renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, centered entirely on construction of the White House ballroom, with microphone feedback interrupting him. The Independent reports that he said nothing of the losses until reporters raised them. Texas turned blue, and Florida Democrats gained enough state House seats to end a Republican supermajority.

Elsewhere, Trump used Truth Social to tout stock market records, and the day after the vote he shared a New York Post front page on his Western Hemisphere policy. In Kansas, Democratic State Senator Cindy Holscher declared victory for governor, though the race is uncalled and Republican Ty Masterson has not conceded.

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