OPINION:
So much for my “cautious optimism” before the midterms.
Yes, this train wreck was all about President Trump, high prices and the Iran war. It was also about changing demographics and hostile media that distorted every Trump success into a failure.
Mr. Trump’s biggest negative was failing to end the Iran war in the promised four to five weeks. Americans are of a mind that if you are going to start a war, you had better win it. Instead, we got an endless stalemate.
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Meanwhile, gasoline was over $4 a gallon and diesel hit $6.50 a gallon. Many voters were upset that the president did not fix the high prices he inherited from President Biden. In fact, Mr. Trump issued tariffs that kept prices high and hurt farmers.
Democrats pounced on “affordability” and pointed to the Trump family making billions of dollars off cryptocurrency. They promise revenge and nonstop investigations.
Distractions abounded, such as Mr. Trump’s renaming and then closing the Kennedy Center, building a huge ballroom and planning a massive arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
Then there was the Reflecting Pool fiasco, which Mr. Trump inexplicably revisited in person on Election Day. The next day, he showed off the marble floors in the new ballroom.
On top of that are the social media insults, which many find embarrassingly unpresidential.
Mr. Trump threatened to make Canada “the 51st state” just before the country’s 2025 national election. This doomed a possible Conservative victory and helped make leftist Mark Carney prime minister. Mr. Trump renamed Lake Ontario Lake America.
Mr. Trump rightly fortified security around Greenland, but he first threatened to use force. Americans like strength, not bullying. He would argue that it was necessary to get results, but that was how it came across.
Finally, there was his deal for Russia to release 300,000 metric tons of diesel fuel even as Vladimir Putin was sending more missiles into Ukraine, killing scores of civilians.
All this took away from Mr. Trump’s enormous accomplishments. Foremost among these was ending the mass invasion by illegal aliens orchestrated under Mr. Biden.
Mr. Trump targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, something none of his predecessors dared do. Iran still bars United Nations arms inspectors while claiming the nuclear enrichment is for peaceful purposes. So why are the facilities deep under tons of mountainous terrain?
Mr. Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which preserved the 2017 tax cuts, saving money for seniors, tip recipients and others. He revived America’s energy industry. He toppled a dictator in Venezuela and reversed diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the military. He appointed scores of sound judges.
Crime has dropped to historically low levels. Massive fraud is being uncovered almost daily. In many ways, Mr. Trump has been a great president.
There is more, but here are some encouraging election takeaways. Even in states in which the Democrats scored victories, voters showed a conservative streak. In four states — Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska and Washington — voters approved ballot measures barring biological males from girls’ and women’s sports teams.
In North Carolina, voters approved Republican-sponsored measures capping property taxes and income taxes and requiring photo IDs for voting. In Iowa, voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds majority to raise income taxes. In Ohio, voters passed an amendment requiring photo voter IDs.
In Gov. Ron DeSantis’ well-run Florida, Republicans elected Byron Donalds as America’s first Black Republican governor, kept a U.S. Senate seat and held the Legislature.
Despite wins by several congressional candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, an exit poll found that only 9% of voters strongly favor socialism, with 31% favoring capitalism, according to The Washington Post.
An NBC poll found only 29% of voters endorsing the Democratic Party, with 38% favoring Republicans. The Republican Party is not dead, just badly stunned. The damage in deep-red Texas is the most consequential. Democrats swept all statewide offices and four state Supreme Court seats, including installing a lesbian as chief justice. Fake Christian chameleon James Talarico is headed to the U.S. Senate. Changing demographics played a part. Texas has about 1.4 million more registered voters than it did for the 2022 midterm.
One key factor in the midterms was the low White evangelical Christian turnout. It was only 17% of the electorate, down from 23% in 2024. It was likely down by 5 million from the 2022 midterms. About 80% of these voters typically vote Republican, so the no-shows were sorely missed.
Voters ages 18 to 29 apparently bought the Democrats’ socialist pitch for free stuff and abortions, voting for Democrats in House races by 72%.
Catholics, who account for 20% of the electorate, voted about 50% for each party. Jews, who constitute about 3%, voted 31% Republican. The “nones” — no religious affiliation — at 27% of voters, went 78% for Democrats.
Hispanics, who constitute 10%, voted 62% Democratic, although one NBC poll showed Hispanic Protestants voting 56% Republican. Black Protestants, who make up about 7%, voted 90% Democratic.
Muslims, only about 1% of the electorate so far, had a big impact in Michigan, where they voted 92% for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
The clip of Mr. El-Sayed’s victory speech is chilling. With a smirk, he drops the “just a regular Michigander” facade and says, in a heavy Arab accent: “I am Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed.”
Conservative Christians and Jews who sat out this one had better think twice about it in 2028.
• Robert Knight is a columnist for The Washington Times. His website is roberthknight.com.
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