American billionaire Elon Musk met the loss of the Republican candidates, who pumped hundreds of millions of dollars to support them in the midterm elections, with remarkable sarcasm.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Musk posted a sarcastic comment on the “X” platform, in which he said: “It seems that the space lasers I used to interfere in the elections did not work this time,” in a sarcastic reference to the failure of the candidates he supported to achieve the results he was seeking.
The Republicans' losses are of particular importance to Musk, who spent about $445 million during the current election cycle to support the party's candidates, becoming the largest individual donor in modern American political history, without his electoral investments achieving the desired results.
Musk's sarcastic comments were not limited to Republican losses in general, but also extended to the results of the Texas governor's elections, which witnessed the victory of Democrat Gina Hinojosa, known for her opposition to data centers, in a surprising result.
Musk commented on the result, saying: “Data centers in space seem like a very attractive option now,” referring to concerns about the future of data center projects within the state.
The electoral results raise questions about the impact of the political transformation in Texas on Musk’s investment ambitions and his companies’ projects in the state, as well as the extent to which the loss of the candidates he supported will affect his willingness to spend huge sums again during the 2028 elections.
The results across the country were a major blow to US President Donald Trump, who spent almost every day of the past month organizing election rallies to rally his supporters, but he was unable to prevent a crushing defeat.
Adam Hamwi, a surgeon who previously volunteered in the Gaza Strip, won a seat in the US House of Representatives yesterday (Tuesday), defeating his Republican rival, Greg Milley, in the 12th Congressional District of New Jersey.
According to the Associated Press - which announced his victory at 8:26 pm EST - Hamwi received 70.8 percent of the votes, after counting 80 percent of the ballot papers.
With this victory, Hamwi becomes the first Muslim to represent the state in Congress. Hamwi, 57, was one of twelve active candidates in the constituency, where Liberal Watson Coleman is retiring after 12 years in office (there was a thirteenth candidate on the ballot, but he withdrew from the race).
Hamwi, a surgeon and former doctor in the US Army, easily defeated his Republican competitor, lawyer Greg Milley, to succeed Democratic Representative Coleman. The result was not surprising, especially since Coleman, who is considered an influential progressive voice in the House of Representatives, won the seat in the 2024 elections by 25 percentage points. This victory ensures that Hamwi will remain in the seat, which is considered a safe stronghold for the Democratic Party and under its control, according to the American newspaper, The Hill.
Earlier this year, Hamwi won the Democratic nomination, after a primary competition that witnessed the participation of a large number of candidates.
His upbringing and volunteer work
Hamwi grew up in New Jersey after his family immigrated from Egypt while he was still an infant. He attended Rutgers University and its medical school, and later obtained a master's degree in business administration from the same university. After completing his military service, he returned to New Jersey, where he established a private plastic surgery practice in Princeton.
According to his campaign website, Hamwi also volunteered to treat patients in Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Jordan, Turkey, Bosnia, Haiti, Belize and Colombia.
Hamwi served for eight years as a surgeon in the US Army, including a nine-month deployment to the 31st Combat Hospital in Baghdad during the Iraq War.
His trip to Gaza
Hamwi, who lives in South Brunswick and runs a plastic surgery clinic in Princeton, entered the race as an unknown political figure. His campaign quickly gained momentum amid discontent among progressives toward Israel and its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Hamwi's name emerged in 2024, when he was among a group of doctors stranded in the Gaza Strip following Israel's closure of the Rafah border crossing.
Democratic Senator from Illinois, Tammy Duckworth - who credits Hamwi with saving her life after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004 - intervened to help secure the exit of him and others from the Gaza Strip, as a form of return, according to “The Hill.”
Hamwi's work as a volunteer in a Gaza hospital during the war contributed to strengthening support for him, and he also received the support of prominent progressive figures, such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ro Khanna, according to what the newspaper "Politico" reported.
Against war
The state of New Jersey includes a large Arab-American community, numbering approximately 179,000 people. The Egyptian-American community has witnessed particularly rapid growth, and the constituency represented by Hamwi includes about 11,000 citizens of Arab origins, according to data from the Arab American Institute.
Through a video clip through his official account on “X”, Hamwi called on voters to vote for him, saying: “Do you want to anger Trump? Return your ballot by mail today.”
Hamwi called for an end to US military aid to Israel. He also generally expressed his opposition to providing US military aid to countries that commit human rights violations.
In an interview with the New Jersey Monitor in May, Hamwi opposed the ongoing war on Iran, calling it “illegal and immoral.” He also accused the United States of “catering to the special interests of defense companies and warmongers, along with organizations such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Israel’s own interests.”
On domestic policy, Hamwi called for expanding access to health care, increasing funding for public schools, and reducing costs for working-class families.
It is worth noting that the Democrats are heading to seize control of the US Congress in the midterm elections, after obtaining a majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, turning yesterday’s vote into a severe defeat for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.
In the first reaction to the electoral loss suffered by the Republican Party in the midterm elections, US President Donald Trump threatened to use his presidential veto to block legislation that Democrats might push.
Trump posted, through his social networking platform, “Truth Social,” a picture of a red hat with the word “Veto” written on it, indicating his willingness to use his constitutional powers to block bills adopted by his Democratic opponents, minutes after he announced his willingness to cooperate with them.
Trump had acknowledged, in an interview with the New York Times, his willingness to accept the election results, saying: “I am fully prepared to accept these results,” adding that he would work with the Democrats during the next stage. But at the same time, he indicated that he would resort to using the presidential veto if necessary.
He told the Wall Street Journal: “I think we will cooperate with the Democrats and get along with them very well, and if that does not happen, we will be firm with them, and they will be firm with us.”
This reflects the possibility of the relationship between the White House and Congress entering a new phase of political and legislative confrontation.
In an attempt to minimize the repercussions of the defeat, Trump claimed that he would have achieved a landslide victory if his name had been on the ballot papers, and wrote on his platform: “I was not a candidate in the elections, and if I had been a candidate, we would have won by an overwhelming majority!”
The US President had threatened, before the polls closed on Tuesday, to use his presidential powers to obstruct democratic legislation if the Democrats won the elections.
“I have absolute power, and it’s called veto power,” Trump said in an exclusive phone interview with CBS News.
He added that he would not mind being called “Mr. Veto” if the Democrats were able to obtain a majority in the House of Representatives or the Senate.
On the other hand, the network quoted a source close to the US President that the Democrats’ victory in the midterm elections will not necessarily prevent Trump from continuing to implement his priorities. Pointing out that he will retain powers that enable him to make broad decisions during the next year, in the files of: trade, border security, federal government management, foreign policy, and national security.
