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By Steve Mollman
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President Donald Trump shared social media posts Saturday questioning the scale of Democrats’ midterm election gains, days after saying he was “absolutely willing” to accept the results of an election that cost Republicans control of Congress.
Trump reposted material on Truth Social questioning Democratic vote totals nationally and in Texas, including a post describing Gina Hinojosa’s performance in the Texas governor’s race as “Looney Tunes numbers.”
The activity marks a shift in tone from election night, when Trump acknowledged Republicans’ losses and said he would accept the results.
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Trump has not, in the posts seen by Newsweek, said that the midterm results were fraudulent or that he no longer accepts them.
Newsweek has contacted the White House and the Texas Secretary of State’s office for comment.
Trump Shares Post Calling Texas Midterm Numbers ‘Looney Tunes’
One of the posts shared by Trump Saturday was from Donald Ward, who argued that unusually high Democratic turnout in Texas could not be explained by weak Republican participation.
Ward noted that Republican Governor Greg Abbott received roughly 100,000 more votes than in his 2022 reelection but lost to Hinojosa, who received substantially more votes than Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beto O'Rourke had four years earlier.
“The problem is Gina Hinojosa gained 1.7 million votes more than Beto O’Rourke,” the post said. “Those are Looney Tunes numbers.” Ward added that if the turnout reflected genuine enthusiasm, “lines should have been around the block at every polling station.”
Ward also compared Hinojosa’s total with those of Democratic presidential nominees Kamala Harris in 2024 and Joe Biden in 2020. The post called the numbers “not normal midterms numbers.” Trump shared an image of the post on Truth Social on Saturday morning.
Minutes later, Trump shared another post, this one from Kevin Bass, featuring a chart comparing the nationwide House popular vote in 2022 with projected totals for 2026.
“Republican votes stayed the same. Democrats materialized 20 million new votes,” the post said.
The accompanying chart listed 54.2 million Republican and 51.3 million Democratic House votes in 2022, compared with projected 2026 totals of 55.6 million Republican and 70.4 million Democratic votes. The graphic itself noted that the 2026 numbers were projections based on 85 percent of the expected vote being counted and estimated remaining ballots at the then-current rates. Trump shared the material on Truth Social Saturday morning.
Neither post provided evidence that the reported results were inaccurate or the product of fraud.
Trump also shared a separate graphic highlighting the longstanding historical tendency for the president’s party to lose House seats during midterm elections. That material did not question the validity of this year’s results.
Trump Said He Would Accept 2026 Midterm Results
The posts come four days after Trump took a markedly different tone as the scale of Republican losses became apparent.
“I am absolutely willing to accept those results,” Trump told the New York Times on election night. “We’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll, you know, look forward to working with them. We’ll probably work something out.”
Trump had been less definitive before Election Day, saying he would accept the outcome if the elections were “honest.”
In other election-night remarks, Trump sought to distance himself from the Republican defeat, writing on Truth Social: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
He nevertheless gave Democrats credit for their showing, telling Fox News: “I think the Democrats did a good job. I really do. They fought hard.”
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Democrats Won House and Senate in Midterm Elections
Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s elections, dealing Trump and the Republican Party a major setback halfway through his second term.
The results included Democratic victories in Republican strongholds and ended unified GOP control of Washington. Democrats have secured at least 54 Senate seats, with two races still unresolved, while flipping more than 40 Republican-held House seats. More than two dozen House races remain uncalled.
The House result also came against a historical pattern that Trump himself emphasized after the losses. Since 1946, the president’s party has lost House seats in 18 of 20 midterm elections, with an average loss of about 26 seats.
Trump’s Republicans lost 41 House seats during his first midterm election in 2018.
The 2026 outcome has already prompted changes inside the administration. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is leaving her position, with longtime Trump adviser Stephen Miller named as her replacement, while several senior Justice Department officials have also announced their departures.
Election Day Saw Few Major Voting Problems
The Associated Press reported that Election Day unfolded with relatively few problems, with the most notable disruptions involving weather and equipment issues in several states.
In Westchester County, New York, ballot scanners experienced problems that officials attributed to a programming update, while polling hours were extended at several locations in Pennsylvania and North Carolina following technical issues.
The posts Trump shared Saturday questioned whether Democratic vote totals were plausible but did not provide evidence that fraud or other irregularities accounted for Democrats’ victories.
The posts mark a notable change in tone just days after Trump’s unusually unambiguous election-night statement that he was prepared to accept the results.
Newsweek reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
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