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Explosive behind-the-scenes account reveals how Trump is coping in private after midterm defeat as he's 'paralyzed' with fury
Donald Trump reportedly retreated to the White House residence as the scale of the Republican Party's midterm defeat became clear, leaving aides and political allies to watch the results unfold without him.
While senior administration figures gathered in the East Room on Tuesday evening as they watched television screens broadcasting the results, the president remained upstairs.
Trump's explosive behind-the-scenes reaction to midterm defeat
According to an explosive behind-the-scenes account, Trump was joined by his chief of staff Susie Wiles and close aide Natalie Harp as the Democrats forged considerable gains across the country, and with the extent of the Republicans' losses becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, the atmosphere at the White House watch party reportedly deteriorated.
Senior members of staff began leaving, followed by several Cabinet officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had been present earlier in the evening, but had reportedly left.
By the time Democrats were projected to win the House shortly before 10PM Eastern time, the East Room was largely empty, with some staff members reportedly headed to a nearby Washington, D.C. bar.
“It's very, very dark in the residence,” one senior official revealed about Trump's reaction. “It's a dark scene.
Another source close to Trump told the Daily Mail that, “He's watching Fox News, barely uttering a word and paralyzed into silence.”
Trump blames senior Republican officials for defeat
However, while the president was allegedly struggling to contain his anger in private, he was making his frustrations rather more public on Truth Social.
In one of many attacks on the conservative news network during the evening, Trump declared: “Fox News bears responsibility for these losses.”
He also appeared to turn on Texas Governor Greg Abbott, despite having praised him just hours earlier.
“If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn't become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn't have lost,’ Trump wrote.
He went on to insist: “We would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
The president also pointed out that he had not personally been on the ballot, despite having urged supporters in the run-up to the election to treat the vote as a referendum on his presidency.
As the results continued to come in, attention reportedly turned to which senior figures might face the consequences of the Republican defeat, with two names being repeatedly mentioned by White House officials: Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
One senior official suggested the ongoing war with Iran had played a significant role in the party's defeat.
“Tonight would have looked very different without the Iran War,” they told the Daily Mail. “I believe you'll ultimately see POTUS hold Hegseth accountable.”