Donald Trump has declared America “took a giant step back in History” after Democratic gains in the midterm elections.
The president, posting on Truth Social, pinned a $3 trillion single-day stock market drop on the results. “America took a giant step back in History with the results of the last Election — Even the Stock Market, which has been a ‘ROCKETSHIP’ under ‘TRUMP,’ took a one day, 3 Trillion Dollar loss,” he wrote. “But have no fear, we will be back, BIGGER AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Trump pressed the same point Friday during an appearance at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. “Our country lost three trillion dollars all because of an election. I wonder what that means. If we would have gained three trillion dollars, I probably would have been more unhappy,” he said. “But you know what that means? That means that they thought somebody else did well in an election.”
Speaking to reporters in Florida that same day, Trump tied the market slide to Iran policy as well as the Democratic showing. “We lost about $3 trillion when they found out that the Democrats did well in the election, rather surprisingly, but that’s the way life goes. It had to do with the fact that we won’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon, so you always have to go with that first,” he said.
Vice-president JD Vance has offered a broader explanation for the Republican rout, blaming the war with Iran, inflation and the rising cost of living.
Trump himself has pointed to his absence from the ballot. In a post-election interview, he said, “I feel that I wasn’t on the ballot, and there was nothing that could be done about that. If I was, we would have won.”
The White House has pushed back against any suggestion of diminished authority. After the results came in, the official White House X account posted a message reading “PSA: TRUMP IS STILL YOUR PRESIDENT,” paired with a photograph of the president staring directly into the camera.
Democrats secured control of both the House and the Senate in what some observers termed a “blue tsunami,” though Trump will remain in office through the end of his term.
Trump’s Friday remarks at Kennedy Space Centre marked his second public attempt to reframe the market reaction, having already spoken to reporters earlier that day in Florida. The twin appearances came as Republicans absorbed losses across multiple races.
The president’s “BIGGER AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE” vow on Truth Social echoed his past campaign rhetoric, though he offered no specific timeline for the comeback he predicted.
Trump is scheduled to appear at a rally in Phoenix.