Donald Trump admitted the government shutdown contributed to Tuesday night’s election losses for Republicans.
While the president said he didn’t expect his party to come out on top, he realizes the ongoing shutdown – now the longest in US history – could have hurt Republican candidates’ chances even more.
During a breakfast with GOP senators at the White House on Wednesday morning, Trump said Tuesday’s results are ‘not good for anybody’ in the country.
‘I thought we’d have a discussion after the press leaves about what last night represented and what we should do about it,’ the president said during remarks at the top of the event.
He also said they would talk about the shutdown ‘and how that relates to last night.’
‘I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor – negative for the Republicans,’ the president added.
On Tuesday night, Democrats took sweeping victories in gubernatorial, mayoral and other local elections.
Donald Trump speaks to senators during a breakfast at the White House on Wednesday
Republican senators and members of the cabinet gathered in the State Dining Room of the White House on November 5, 2025 for a breakfast with President Trump
Tuesday’s election was a historic night for Democrats.
Progressive Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayor’s race with 50.4 percent of the vote – compared to runner up and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 41.6 percent. Mamdani will be the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of America’s largest city.
Further south, Democrat Abigail Spanberger won her Virginia race and will be the first woman to serve as governor of the state.
‘Last night it was, you know, not expected to be a victory,’ Trump admitted on Wednesday morning. ‘I don’t think it was good for Republicans – I’m not sure it was good for anybody.’
‘But we had an interesting evening and we learned a lot,’ he added.
