President Trump attributed Republican losses in Democratic-leaning states to the 36-day government shutdown during a closed-door breakfast with GOP lawmakers at the White House. The President acknowledged the shutdown’s impact on voter sentiment but stopped short of directly blaming it for the results. “I think, if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor,” Trump said, adding that it “was negative for the Republicans.”
The 36-day shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, left 800,000 federal workers without paychecks and became a central issue in Tuesday’s elections. Trump noted that economic concerns and the prolonged government dysfunction weighed on voters’ minds, stating, “I don’t think it was good for Republicans.” However, he did not explicitly criticize the shutdown itself or its duration.
The President also addressed criticism from opponents who suggested his absence from the ballot contributed to the outcomes. “They say that I wasn’t on the ballot and was the biggest factor,” Trump said. “But I don’t know about that. But I was honored that they said that.”
While emphasizing the need to end the shutdown, Trump urged Republicans to “terminate the filibuster” to advance legislative priorities, framing the move as necessary to break gridlock. He highlighted the challenges of governing during a crisis, stating, “Governing during a crisis requires difficult choices that don’t always poll well in the short term.”
The election results saw Democrats retain control of deep-blue states like New York City, Virginia, and New Jersey, with victories described as holding territory rather than significant shifts. Trump’s remarks contrasted with media narratives portraying the outcomes as a “referendum on Republican leadership,” which he dismissed as exaggerated.
The President’s focus on solutions over blame underscored his approach to political challenges, even as the shutdown continued. Federal judges had previously ordered the administration to release $4.65 billion in SNAP reserves during the standoff, but Trump defied the order, withholding funds until Democrats ended the shutdown.
