Trump admits GOP took big election hit as he reconsiders shutdown strategy

Donald Trump admitted the government shutdown contributed to Tuesday night’s election losses for Republicans.

While the president said he didn’t expect his party to come out on top, he realizes the ongoing shutdown – now the longest in US history – could have hurt Republican candidates’ chances even more.

GOP senators were still licking their wounds from Tuesday night’s hit as they gathered at the White House on Wednesday morning for breakfast with Trump and cabinet members.

Trump insisted that the latest results are ‘not good for anybody’ in the country.

He did not mention any specific race and was noticeably silent about Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani winning the mayoral race in Trump’s hometown of New York City.

‘I thought we’d have a discussion after the press leaves about what last night represented and what we should do about it,’ the president said during remarks at the top of the event.

He also said they would talk about the shutdown ‘and how that relates to last night.’

‘I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor – negative for the Republicans,’ the president added.

Ironically, Trump’s breakfast came on the one-year anniversary of his reelection victory last year – but the tone was subdued after Democrats took sweeping victories in gubernatorial, mayoral and other local elections the night prior.

Donald Trump speaks to senators during a breakfast at the White House on Wednesday

Republican senators and members of the cabinet gathered in the State Dining Room of the White House on November 5, 2025 for a breakfast with President Trump

Wednesday marked the record for the longest federal government shutdown on record.

Meanwhile, Democrats were celebrating a historic election night.

Progressive Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayor’s race with 50.4 percent of the vote – compared to runner up and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 41.6 percent. Mamdani will be the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of America’s largest city.

Further south, Democrat Abigail Spanberger won her Virginia race against Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears. Spanberger will be the first woman to serve as governor of Virginia.

‘Last night it was, you know, not expected to be a victory,’ Trump admitted on Wednesday morning. ‘I don’t think it was good for Republicans – I’m not sure it was good for anybody.’

‘But we had an interesting evening and we learned a lot,’ he added.

Trump also noted how some experts claimed that his name being absent from the ballot was ‘the biggest factor’ in Republicans not showing up to vote in their local elections.

‘I don’t know about that, but I was honored that they said that.’

Zohran Mamdani will be the first Muslim and South Asian to serve as mayor of New York City