Kathrine Frich
A “blue tsunami” swept across the map and gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress.
Election night in Washington is supposed to be a time for big crowds, loud cheers, and endless trays of party food.
When a political campaign hits a wall, however, the mood inside the room can turn ice cold in a hurry.
By late Tuesday evening, one of the most famous addresses in the world looked more like a ghost town than a victory party.
Untouched food downstairs
According to the Irish Star and the Daily Mail, White House staffers and political allies gathered in the East Room early on Tuesday to track the midterm election numbers.
Trays of Cheesecake Factory snacks sat out on the tables as a playful nod to recent remarks by former President Barack Obama. Yet the guest of honor never showed up.
As a “blue tsunami” swept across the map and gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress, the guests started slipping out the door, the Irish Star reported. Even Secretary of State Marco Rubio left early. By 10 pm Eastern, the room was mostly empty and the party platters sat untouched.
Upstairs in the private residence, President Donald Trump was reportedly “paralyzed” with rage.
First Lady Melania Trump and the rest of his family were nowhere in sight, leaving him to watch the returns with Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and close aide Natalie Harp, according to the Daily Mail.
“It’s very, very dark in the residence,” one senior official said of the mood. “It’s a dark scene.”
Fury on his phone
Another insider told the outlet that the president was “watching Fox News barely uttering a work and paralyzed into silence.”
While he sat quietly in person, he let his anger fly online. As the Irish Star noted, he quickly blamed the conservative network and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who lost his seat to Democrat Gina Hinajosa.
“Fox News bears responsibility for these losses,” Trump wrote. He then took a direct swing at the defeated governor.
“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,” the president posted, adding separately that “We would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” before noting, “but I wasn’t on the ballot.”
Heads could roll
Behind the scenes, panic quickly turned into a blame game over the Iran war, high prices, and major Democratic Senate upsets by James Talarico in Texas, Annie Andrews in South Carolina, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, and Troy Jackson in Maine.
According to the AP Voter Poll cited by the Irish Star, young voters and Latinos shifted away from the party, with only about a third of Hispanic voters backing Republicans in local House races.
Now, insiders told the Daily Mail that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio could take the fall. “Tonight would have looked very different without the Iran War,” one official said. “I believe you’ll ultimately see POTUS hold Hegseth accountable.”
A Republican donor agreed that “Rubio is over,” while a White House insider put the stakes even more bluntly for the president. “If the boss is smart, he’ll purge everyone tomorrow to save his legacy.”
