After record early voting we’re well into election day. Pundits are in heaven speculating their little hearts out about what the results will be. Who knows? Polls have been wrong before but by midnight we’ll have a pretty good picture of how much, if any Democrats gained and Republicans lost. Trump will react no matter what, and that too is a hot topic for pundits. I see three possibilities: 1) Democrats wind up disappointed from only a modest majority in the House and failing to take the Senate, 2) Democrats express relief over at least winning a solid majority in the House even if they fail to re-take the Senate, and 3) A Blue Wave – a huge Democratic win at least as big as in 2018.
If it’s number 1, Trump won’t just spend every remaining day of his term crowing about it, he’ll be even more out of control than he already is. (I learned growing up no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse.) If it’s either #2 or #3 we can be certain Trump will pitch a fit, especially if he’s staring down the double political barrel of a strong margin in the House and a Senate that do two things he’ll hate even more than actual oversight.
The first is all manner of legislation he’ll hate will be sent to him to sign or veto. Most of it he’ll veto even if it ensures the GOP will get whacked again in 2028. The second is a Senate with a more than one seat majority that will block any and every crazy-assed incompetent person he nominates. Including judges and Justices. It will be two years of lame-duck hell. Of course, there’s the possibility that Republican Congress Critters will see Trump circling the drain and join with Democrats to fashion bi-partisan legislation and even override a handful of vetoes to preserve their own chances in 2028. I wouldn’t bet ON that but I won’t say it’s unthinkable either.
Trump knows what could be coming, and even likely if the polls are to be believed. He’s been angry, and part of it is self-loathing he keeps locked away for the middle of the night when he’s the only one roaming the halls. HE chose to make the midterms about HIM, even as so many elected Republicans and even some in his circle (yes, Jared and Wannabe Princess Ivanka are lurking in the shadows) begged him to STFU. He probably even knew long ago he should at least pipe down but he can’t help himself. Or admit something he’s doing isn’t working and change course. No, Trump is someone who instinctively double and triples down in the batshit insane notion that it will turn out the way he wants.
If Trump and the GOP see a bad moon rise tonight as I’ve said Trump is going to react. I won’t spend time talking about all the ways his petulance and anger will manifest. What I will however say is there’s one thing we can be sure of: Trump won’t take one bit of responsibility for an electoral bloodbath! That’s right folks. As always with Trump, any and everything good that happens HE personally made it happen! Conversely, anything bad that happens is someone else’s fault! So Trump will assign blame. There will be the usual “rigged” and “massive voter fraud” claims and even wilder CT about hacking of voting machines and counting software/equipment. Which brings me to why I chose to writ this.
In every ‘rally’ (they ain’t what they used to be!) and in lots of other public statements both on TV and Truth Social Trump has implored voters, his MAGAs in particular to pretend HE is on the ballot. Typical Trump. Make it all about him. He somehow convinces himsel for an astounding part of each day that his dismal approval ratings are FAKE NEWS. Virtually every other GOP elected official and professional Party operative knows the actual truth which is that Trump is a political drowning man, dragging them all under the water.
Hard core orange Kool Aid drinking MAGAs mostly have stuck with him and will have voted for Republicans. The problem is there aren’t enough of them in a lot of key places. Another Trump/GOP problems is conservative leaning independents, as well as two groups (Hispanics and black men) who swung his way in 2024 feel like they got suckered. For all Trump’s talk about a ‘landslide’, ‘record’ victory in 2024 without those gains he’d have lost. Now? As the title of a famous song from The Who proclaims they are saying ‘We won’t be fooled again.’
I want to emphasize the fact Trump has been counted out before. He’s banking on polling being wrong because conservatives sometimes are either under-represented in polling models or flat-out lie to pollsters. He might just have gone to that well once too often. Without overwhelming support from those swaths of rural/small town America he’s toast and there are strong indications they too are pissed off. These Trump voters are, if polling and pundits are right unhappy enough to either not vote, or in a small percentage actually vote for a Democrat!
My one prediction about what will happen if the GOP loses, and ‘bigly’ is that when pundits talk about his telling voters “Pretend I’m on the ballot” or worse, journalists ask him about it Trump’s response will be:
I NEVER said any such thing!
Yes, he’s that brazen. Trump will think he can once again get people to ignore the evidence of their own eyes and ears. He really doesn’t have much choice. He’s managed to do that and often enough he has to at least try. However that comes with a risk. If voters, even in MAGA country vote in a manner that effectively tells Trump ‘You keep telling us things are great but we don’t believe you anymore’ who knows what else they will start to question. Jan. 6 comes to mind. If Democrats regain control on Capitol Hill that, and Trump’s stalling on the Epstein files will be major issues. If his MAGAs don’t push back (to elected Republicans) Trump will be in more trouble than he’s been in his entire life.
Still, if the GOP gets whomped tonight it’s only a matter of time before Trump makes the claim it was never about him, and he never, ever ever ever ever suggested voters should pretend he was on the ballot. I say if election night unfold the way most Politizoom readers hope come midnight the Countdown Clock on that will officially start. Stay tuned.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
Your article titke “Predicting What Trump Will Say If the GOP Gets Hosed Tonight” Hopefully it’ll be a dysfunctional ‘Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!’
God speed on successful and consequential midterm results.
To me the more immediate danger is that, as I understand it, the President has relative freedoms not to have to worry about Congress in the foreign arena and where he can create havoc and diversion.
Iran looms large and the nuclear button must be too handy a temptation if an addled, irrational, cornered, frustrated and angry narcissist wants to lash out. Remember the ” end of a civilisation”? Then Cuba? Greenland?
Hegseth, job on the line, and already a stooge won’t stand in the way. Can we be sure of the military? There’s no General Miley.