“ELECTION EVE”
Trump on the midterms: “We gave this a very strong shot”
Filed under GaffesMidterms 2026
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Nothing says “closing argument” like a past-tense participation trophy.
About 32 minutes into his last scheduled speech before Election Day, most of it about a pool, Donald Trump got to the midterms. First the dream: if the people who voted for him last time turn out, Republicans win “in a landslide.” Then he talked himself out of it.
“Now that doesn’t happen,” he said, because the sitting president, of either party, good or bad, usually loses. “For some reason the sitting president doesn’t win the midterms, but we gave this a very strong shot.”
“For some reason.” The reason has a name: history. In the American Presidency Project’s table, the president’s party gained House seats in just three of the 23 midterms from 1934 through 2022: 1934, 1998 and 2002. NBC News read the line as setting the stage for potential Republican losses. Polls open Tuesday, and no race has been called by AP as of 4:45pm ET, Nov. 2.
Related files
Related clipTrump’s $5,000 offer comes with a catch: ‘If we lose, you get nothing’Related clipTrump is very sad nobody appreciates how great a president Trump isSource files
- The White House on YouTube: President Trump Delivers Remarks, Nov. 2, 2026 (Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool)
- HQNewsNow on X: the “very strong shot” clip, with the “landslide” setup
- CBS News live updates: Trump tells GOP “we gave this a very strong shot”
- NBC News: Ahead of Election Day, Trump sets the stage for potential Republican losses
- The American Presidency Project: Seats in Congress gained/lost by the president’s party in midterm elections
