Donald Trump states the obvious about the 2025 election

“I don’t think it was good for Republicans,” Trump said of the election results. “I’m not sure it was good for anyone.”

In fact, Republicans had a bad night, losing gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey, while a ballot initiative promoted by California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) to fight Trump’s redistricting effort in the middle of the decade was overwhelmingly approved by the state’s voters.

Still, Trump said Election Day was “interesting” and “we learned a lot.”

“I thought we would have a discussion after the press left about what last night represented and what we should do about it, and also about the closure and how that relates to last night,” he said. “I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor, negative for Republicans, and that was a big factor, and they saying me not being on the ballot was the biggest factor.”

His comments echoed a post he made on his Truth Social platform Tuesday night, making excuses for the GOP’s poor performance once it became clear that Democrats had a solid performance, indicating they are on track to potentially retake control of the House of Representatives in next year’s elections.

However, despite Trump’s claims, early exit polls showed that many people saw his vote as a message of opposition to his administration, according to CNN.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Trump urged Republicans to abolish the filibuster (the Senate’s custom of requiring most legislation to meet a 60-vote threshold before it can be passed), a move that most Republican members in the upper chamber strongly oppose, framing it as the “only way” to end the government shutdown.

“It’s time for Republicans to do what they need to do, and that is to end the filibuster,” he said. “If they don’t end the filibuster, they’ll be in bad shape. We won’t pass any legislation.”

Democrats have said they will not vote to reopen the government until Republicans agree to extend enhanced subsidies for millions of people enrolled in the Affordable Care Act, a demand the GOP refused to grant, prompting the extended government shutdown, now in its 36th day. Democratic leaders on Wednesday renewed their demand to meet with Trump and his Republican counterparts.

Meanwhile, Trump made no reference to the victory of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, who is expected to win the New York City mayoral race. The president previously criticized the 34-year-old, endorsing his main rival, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.