The US Republican Party was initially stunned by the shocking results of the midterm elections, but this emotion soon turned into anger towards US President Trump.
After the Democratic Party won successive upsets in traditional Republican vote-getting states such as Texas, Kansas and South Carolina, some Republicans pointed the finger at Trump, believing that he only cares about his own political legacy and is indifferent to issues of concern to voters, causing the Republican Party to lose control of Congress.
Bill Miller, a senior Republican lobbyist in Texas, told the BBC: "The responsibility is on him and no one else. This is a complete and total repudiation of President Trump."
"This is an extremely serious disaster. No one expected this outcome."
Most Republicans had expected to lose control of the House and knew it would not be easy to retain control of the Senate in a difficult election cycle that favored the opposition party.
However, some Republicans said in interviews that Trump's unpopular policies, sluggish approval ratings and his obsession with construction projects in Washington have dragged down the Republican election.
"He's made mistake after mistake," said Greg Pepin, a Republican strategist in Minnesota. "It's clear that in state after state, people don't like the president's policies."
A White House ally said public dissatisfaction with Trump over the Iran war, tariffs and the administration's crackdown on immigration created a "perfect storm" in November.
"There is clear frustration within the party with how this whole thing is going," the person said, with much of the dissatisfaction directed at Trump. Anger against Trump is "extremely strong" within the party.
The BBC interviewed more than a dozen Republican operatives, campaign officials, White House allies and others, many of whom requested anonymity, to provide a candid assessment of Trump's strategy in the midterm elections.
For Trump and the Republican Party, the stakes are high in Tuesday night's election results. If the president's party performs better, as it did in the 2022 midterm elections, when President Joe Biden's Democratic Party lost only nine seats in the House of Representatives and gained one in the Senate, it would add momentum to the Republicans heading into the 2028 elections.
However, Trump will now face a Democratic-controlled Congress. Democratic lawmakers are energized and eager to investigate the Trump administration, block his judicial nominations and impede the rest of his agenda.
This midterm election has brought Trump's second presidential term into a new stage full of uncertainty, and may also force the Republican Party to begin to face the future after the Trump era.
"I don't think his influence is waning," Republican National Committeeman Steve Scheffler of Iowa said on the eve of the election. But he also said that when it comes to midterm elections, "there are things you wish he would have said differently."
Trump remained silent for most of the election night and did not post on his social platform Truth Social until after the Democrats were confirmed to have won control of the House and Senate.
Trump wrote: "My name is not on the ballot. If I had run, we would have won by a landslide! Thank you for your attention."
He later stated in interviews with the New York Times and Fox News that he would accept the election results.
Trump told Fox News he was "a little surprised" by the election results, but noted that the president's party typically does poorly in midterm elections.
Since 1934, the party in power has only added seats to Congress in three midterm elections.
While Democrats' gains in 2026 didn't break records, the party did win dozens of House, gubernatorial and Senate elections, including some in states where Democrats had been uncompetitive for decades.
Before Tuesday, Democrats had not won a Senate seat in Kansas since 1932 and had not won a statewide election in Texas in more than 30 years.
Democrats also made surprise gains in states that have long supported Republicans, such as South Carolina. Just weeks before polling day, these seats were still considered safe for Republicans.
Trump and Vice President Vance held dozens of campaign rallies ahead of the midterm elections. MAGA Inc., the main pro-Trump super PAC, has also spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting Republican candidates.
Trump's allies believe it's unfair to blame him for the Republican election losses.
They point to historical trends in previous midterm elections and say Republicans have been hampered by weaker candidates in key battleground states such as Georgia, Michigan and Texas.
Another Texas Republican operative, who requested anonymity, said the state's Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton ran "the worst Senate race in the country, unmatched by either Republican or Democratic Party."
"I would be very surprised if Ken's campaign ever knocked on 100,000 doors," this person said.
He added that Democratic opponent James Talarico, who defeated Paxton, ran a "very good, strategically smart campaign."
Others defended Trump's fall campaign schedule, saying he must balance his job of running the country with canvassing for votes.
"He's the president, he can't campaign 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Krish Matrani, chairman of the Michigan Republican Youth Organization.
Materani said that Trump's campaign rallies helped increase the enthusiasm of Republican voters. "President Trump is a vote-gathering machine."
In presidential elections, this is certainly true.
But in elections in which Trump himself did not participate, the vote-driving mechanism he is so proud of has not been able to play the same role, and 2026 will be no exception.
Trump claims that the U.S. economy has improved under his leadership and that he is achieving his goals in the Iran war, but voters are not buying it.
Trump’s strategy of trying to paint Democrats as ultra-socialist also failed. Voters gave victory to moderate Democrats like Roy Cooper of North Carolina.
"It just doesn't work on Cooper," said a Cooper campaign official. "Trying to label him as some kind of socialist liberal just doesn't work."
Trump still often seemed uninterested in the midterm elections during the summer, just as congressional Republicans were beginning to turn their attention to the elections.
Trump’s thoughts are mainly on the war with Iran overseas and a series of domestic building renovation projects in Washington.
These projects include the White House Ballroom under construction, a helipad on the South Lawn of the White House, renovations of a local golf course, a proposed memorial arch near Arlington National Cemetery, and renovations to the Kennedy Center.
Multiple sources said that when Trump celebrated his 80th birthday in June, the White House hosted Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events and other events, making it appear that the president was more interested in celebrating himself than winning the midterm elections.
Trump has also repeatedly downplayed the issue of rising gasoline prices and often described people's concerns about affordability as a hoax concocted by the Democratic Party.
It was not until September, when the Republican Party held its midterm election national convention, that Trump fully turned his attention to the election.
Hosting the conference was a gamble in itself. The Republican Party had not held a national convention before a midterm election in decades, and it was still unclear whether voters would tune in.
Trump became the absolute protagonist of the Dallas convention, which made some Republicans dissatisfied. They told the BBC they had hoped the convention would give Republican midterm election candidates more exposure.
In his long and rambling keynote speech, Trump promised to send $5,000 (£3,700) to everyone who voted Republican.
He also publicly supported Paxton, but when expressing his support, he spent a long time criticizing the candidate's lack of charisma and even commented on his appearance, which was raising eyebrows.
"Obviously, that's never helpful," Republican National Committee member Robin Armstrong of Texas said of Trump's criticism of Paxton.
"You can't stop President Trump from saying anything. We can only try to live with it."
The convention failed to draw a large television audience, and Democrats were quick to describe it as a failure.
"This convention is backfiring the Republican Party because no one is paying attention," said Terry Burke, executive director of the Texas Democratic Party.
In the final weeks before the polls, Trump continued to frequently deviate from his original campaign message even as he took to the campaign trail.
He made headlines for praising Ohio Republican Sen. John Husted's physique and was criticized for calling Abdul-Sayed a "jihadist" during the Michigan Senate race.
Democrats are using the deal, and other scandals surrounding the White House, to make a case to voters why they should be given back control of Congress.
These campaign messages were ultimately recognized by voters, and the Democratic Party won control of both houses of Congress with a clear advantage.
Another White House ally said that even as the Republican defeat became clear, the president's political staff remained optimistic until the final days before the vote.
Now, Republicans are beginning to examine the reasons for their defeat. Many interviewees said they are ready to turn their attention to the 2028 election.
"Whether it's Vance, whether it's Marco Rubio, whether it's Ted Cruz, we have a pretty deep pool of talent," said Scheffler, the Iowa Republican National Committee member.
"It will be a completely open competition."
Republican strategist Pepin said that the midterm election results show that the Republican Party needs to find a new direction. "I sincerely hope that we have turned the page of the Trump era and that there will be new figures, new issues, and new focuses in the future."
