People across the political spectrum view President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement as among the biggest losers of last week’s midterm elections, according to new polling suggesting the Republican Party’s sweeping losses have increased questions about the president’s political influence.
The Nov. 3 elections delivered a significant blow to Republicans, with Democrats making substantial gains in both chambers of Congress. As of Wednesday, Democrats had won 255 House seats to Republicans’ 167, according to the Associated Press, with several races still uncalled. Democrats are on track to add another five or six seats as the remaining contests are decided. In the Senate, Democrats flipped at least seven seats, with two races still outstanding.
A new Politico poll conducted in the days following the election found that voters largely viewed the results as a rejection of Trump and his political movement. Nearly 6 in 10 people said the MAGA movement came out of the election as a loser, while 62% identified Trump as one of the election’s biggest political casualties.
Democrats, meanwhile, received a more favorable assessment. Fifty-five percent of respondents considered centrist Democrats among the election’s biggest winners, while 58% said progressive Democrats had emerged stronger from the results. The findings suggest the Democratic Party’s gains were not necessarily attributable to one ideological faction, with both its centrist and progressive wings receiving credit.
The results were particularly notable among voters who supported Trump. Even among self-identified MAGA voters, 45% said the movement had lost ground in the midterm elections, compared with just 27% who considered it a winner. Among Trump voters who did not identify with the MAGA movement, 60% viewed it as a loser.
The findings point to a possible divide within the Republican coalition over the direction of the party following its disappointing performance. While Trump remains the central figure in the GOP, the election results have renewed questions about whether his political brand is helping or hurting Republicans in competitive districts.
Trump acknowledged at least one area of vulnerability following the election. During an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes that aired Sunday, the president conceded that his administration’s immigration policies may have contributed to Republican losses.
“Get the killers out. Get the, get the rapists out. Get all the rough ones out. Get the drug dealers out,” Trump said. “But let the people that are here, and in some cases here for 10 and 15 years, work a deal for them, OK?”
Trump defended his administration’s efforts to secure the southern border and deport illegal immigrants, particularly those with criminal records. However, he suggested the aggressive enforcement approach had gone too far in some instances, pointing to the deportation of immigrants working in the hospitality industry and other blue-collar service jobs.
The president argued that removing people who had established jobs and were contributing to the economy, despite having entered the country illegally, had created political problems for Republicans.
He also called on Democrats to negotiate with his administration on immigration, suggesting a bipartisan agreement could provide legal status to what he described as ‘good’ illegal immigrants.