Trump on Truth Social: 'I Wasn't on the Ballot,' Fox News Blamed, Then a Vow to Accept Midterm Results

As Democrats won the Senate and moved toward a House majority on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump reacted mostly on Truth Social. He blamed Fox News and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and claimed Republicans would have won “IN A LANDSLIDE” if he had been on the ballot. Later he struck a different tone, telling The New York Times he is “absolutely willing to accept” the results.

Here is what he posted and said, in the order news outlets reported it. All times are ET.

Early evening: attacks on Fox News

Vanity Fair reported that as polls closed in Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m., Trump wrote that he was “Watching the Pre-Election Results on FoxNews.” He then attacked liberal commentator Jessica Tarlov, calling her “DUMB AS A ROCK.” Less than an hour later, he returned to criticize the network’s polling.

Around 7 p.m., the Guardian reported, he mocked what he called falling Fox ratings and claimed the channel was “AGAINST” him. Vanity Fair quoted the post: “FoxNews Ratings are way down (27%!) because they’re spending too much time covering the Trump Deranged Dumocrats!” He offered no source for that figure.

“I wasn’t on the Ballot”

As results turned against Republicans, Trump posted about his own popularity rather than any candidate, Axios and Vanity Fair reported:

“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Vanity Fair noted he did not post about Rep. Mike Collins’ loss in Georgia, Ken Paxton’s deficit in Texas, or CNN’s projection that Democrats would win the House.

Blaming Abbott and Fox

Mediaite reported that after Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Abbott in Texas, Trump wrote that if Abbott “hadn’t become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn’t have lost.”

Just before midnight, according to the Guardian, he directly blamed the network in a post that Mediaite published in full. It criticized Fox for airing former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and said:

“FoxNews bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse.”

Axios noted the claim was made without evidence. Mediaite said Fox News did not respond to its request for comment.

A call into Fox

The Guardian reported that Trump also called into Fox’s election coverage and argued he was not to blame for the losses. “The Fox polls are terrible. You ought to get yourself a good pollster, because your pollsters are the worst,” he said. Anchor Bret Baier replied that “tonight, actually, the results are pretty close to what the Fox polls showed.”

“Absolutely willing to accept those results”

Around 10:30 p.m., Trump spoke with The New York Times in a more conciliatory tone, according to Vanity Fair:

“I am absolutely willing to accept those results. We’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll, you know, look forward to working with them. We’ll probably work something out.”

Axios reported he told Politico he had spoken with Democratic leaders around 11 p.m. and wanted to make deals rather than spend his final two years vetoing bills. About an hour later, he posted an image of a hat with the word “veto” on it, Axios said.

He also posted that he was “going to become a Political Pundit, both good and bad, on the reasons these Candidates won and lost!”

Why it matters

Democrats’ wins mean Trump will face a Congress controlled by the other party for his last two years in office. His overnight posts mixed blame with talk of working with Democrats and signs he would use the veto. That leaves open how he will deal with the new majorities when they take over in January.

FAQ