Trump reverses course and alleges fraud in US midterm elections
Days after congratulating Democrats and saying he accepted the results, the US president is now questioning the integrity of the midterm vote that gave the party control of Congress.
By Olga Menon ·
United States President Donald Trump has cast doubt on the legitimacy of last week's midterm elections, reversing course less than a week after he congratulated Democrats on their victories and said he was willing to accept the results.
"Does anybody really believe that this 'Election' was honest," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday. "How could the Polls be so wrong???"
Ahead of the vote, some Republicans had wondered whether surveys were once again underestimating their support, as they did in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. This time, however, the results went the other way. Polls had largely forecast a strong night for Democrats, suggesting the party was well positioned to take the House of Representatives and had a realistic chance of winning the Senate.
A Pew Research report analysing pre-election polling data found that surveys understated the Democratic margin by at least 2 points in 23 of 27 races for governor and the US Senate.
Trump also alleged on Truth Social that some early voting ballot counts were so large that they made it impossible for Republicans to win. He offered no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing. Over the past few days, the president has shared posts featuring graphs that question voter turnout data.
The post amounts to Trump's first explicit public challenge to the overall midterm results since Democrats overwhelmingly won control of both chambers of Congress, alongside a string of victories in traditionally Republican strongholds.
The remarks came a day after an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes in which Trump appeared to accept the outcome. Asked about his decision to congratulate Democrats, he confirmed he had done so and said he was open to working with the incoming Democratic majority. Shortly after the party's victory was announced, he congratulated Democrats in a call with CBS News and later told Fox News the party "did a good job". He also told The New York Times last week that he "absolutely" accepted the election results.
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer responded on X, saying the president's "return to election denialism was inevitable". "He can whine all he wants, but nothing will stop this inescapable truth: For the last two years of his presidency, Trump will face the largest Democratic congressional majorities in decades, all because he has been an unprecedented failure," Schumer wrote.
Republicans have increasingly sought to distance themselves from Trump following the party's midterm losses. Even conservative commentator Megyn Kelly, who backed the president in 2024, replied to his fraud claims on X with a blunt "Just stop."
