The Election

Washington Post - In the closing days of the midterm elections, Elon Musk, the largest individual political donor in modern American history, lobbed increasingly alarmist barbs about Texas U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico.

Musk, a Texas resident, said the Democrat sought to “open the borders” and “abolish democracy.” Talarico, he said, “will vote to trans your kids.”

But Texas voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected that messaging, electing to send Talarico to the U.S. Senate.

“We just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas,” Talarico declared in a victory speech, singling out Musk. “We just sent a message to every billionaire megadonor — every trillionaire megadonor.”

Washington Post -   Vice President JD Vance didn’t mince words on Wednesday about why his party suffered a stunning defeat at the ballot box: It was the war that President Donald Trump launched.

Vance, a potential 2028 presidential contender, broke sharply with Trump in owning the failures of the administration’s policies.

While Trump and his top White House advisers blamed Republican candidates and tried to wash their hands of any responsibility for the GOP’s massive losses, Vance pinned the blame on the Trump administration’s decisions.

“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote in a lengthy post on social media, noting that Trump himself admitted Iran was a part of the reason voters rejected Republicans — though Trump on Tuesday insisted the war was the correct decision and that he would do it again.

Vance’s response signaled an awareness of the deep distrust from some of the voters who put him and Trump in office — and whose support he will need should he choose to run for president.

The Nation - On Tuesday night, Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim ever elected to the United States Senate—delivering the most direct and profound of the many rebukes that Republican President Donald Trump suffered as the American people thunderously transformed the country’s electoral and political landscape.

Yes, voters handed Democrats control of both chambers of Congress, creating a vital check on Trump’s presidency that substantially disempowers him in the last two years of his second term.

Yes, Republicans experienced substantial setbacks in states such as Iowa, Ohio, Kansas, South Carolina, and Texas, where Trump won with ease just two years ago—confirming the American public’s fundamental break with a historically unpopular, and now unmistakably lame-duck, president.

The Nation -  On Tuesday night, Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim ever elected to the United States Senate—delivering the most direct and profound of the many rebukes that Republican President Donald Trump suffered as the American people thunderously transformed the country’s electoral and political landscape.

Yes, voters handed Democrats control of both chambers of Congress, creating a vital check on Trump’s presidency that substantially disempowers him in the last two years of his second term.

Yes, Republicans experienced substantial setbacks in states such as Iowa, Ohio, Kansas, South Carolina, and Texas, where Trump won with ease just two years ago—confirming the American public’s fundamental break with a historically unpopular, and now unmistakably lame-duck, president.

Washington Post -   Before Democrats started bagging win after win on election night, President Donald Trump was already laying into Fox News, taking to task a perceived ally and a constant fixation in the news media. By the end of the night, Trump blamed the network outright, before calling in for an extended interview in the first hour of Wednesday morning.

The critiques started hours earlier when he launched a personal attack on Jessica Tarlov, known as the liberal co-host on the Fox News panel show “The Five.”

“Watching the Pre-Election Results on FoxNews, but I can’t stand Jessica Tarlov’s voice — DUMB AS A ROCK, but it’s the voice that gets me,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Have to go somewhere else until that LOSER is off the air — I’ll be back later!”

Shortly after, co-host Greg Gutfeld read aloud a text message he said he received from Trump, detailing additional critiques of Tarlov’s comments on high gas prices. 

Tarlov later wrote on X: “I realize my comments highlighting the highest gas prices on any Election Day aggravated the president, but reality is a tricky thing and he should get better at dealing with it.”

Soon after, Trump posted another Truth Social post about Fox. “The FoxNews Poll, always the worst, is so insulting with the questions they ask,” Trump wrote, who has criticized Fox polling over the years when it has showed Democratic strength. “Every question is a hit job, and every answer is “BULLSHIT!” This has been going on for years.”