President Trump Reveals Details on Election Failure

President Donald Trump revealed to reporters that Tuesday night’s election results were not good for Republicans, as Democrats won several key races, including the highly controversial victory of New York State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani (36) in the New York City mayoral race, Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s (NJ-11) victory in the New Jersey gubernatorial race, and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s (VA-7) win to be Virginia’s next governor.

On top of that, California passed Prop 50 to redraw its congressional district map, essentially fixing elections for far-Left candidates in the state for the foreseeable future. The President blamed these tough election losses on the government shutdown.

As reported by Fox News:

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday morning that the ongoing government shutdown was partly to blame for Republican losses on Election Day.

Trump told reporters during a breakfast with GOP lawmakers at the White House that election night on Tuesday “was not expected to be a victory,” saying the 36-day government shutdown was one of two possible reasons.

“I think, if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor,” Trump said. . . .

His remarks come after Democrats won resoundingly in multiple states on Tuesday, with exit polls showing economic worries were very much on the minds of voters.

“I don’t think it was good for Republicans,” Trump said of the election results. “I don’t think it’s good. I’m not sure it was good for anybody.”

So another election night in America has come and gone, and unlike a year ago at this time, not too many conservatives are celebrating. Some are saying things went south in the north.

By about 7:45 p.m., most of the major races were already called. No real surprises in who won – we all kind of knew where things were heading – but the margins told a deeper story. Sometimes the percentage points say more than the headlines.

The biggest race of the night was, of course, the New York City mayoral race. Zohran Mamdani came out on top, and it wasn’t even close enough to debate. He crossed that 50% threshold, clearing the way for a clean victory.

I’ll be honest: I don’t think his win was all that shocking to anyone who was following the New York race. If you saw how easily he handled his opponents in the Democrat primary, you really got a sense of how the general was going to go.

Here’s the deal: I’m not one of those people hoping he fails just because he’s a socialist. I don’t agree with him – not even close – but hoping he succeeds as a leader doesn’t mean hoping socialism succeeds. That’s where a lot of the online crowd gets it twisted. When I say I pray for him, I’m not praying for higher taxes and more government control. I’m saying that as believers, we should pray for our leaders – especially when we don’t agree with them.

Still, it’s fair to say that New York is going to see some real challenges. Taxes will rise. Businesses will weigh their options. As for the real estate market . . .  yikes. And yes, more people will leave the state. You can already feel that tension.

The night wasn’t just about New York, though. We saw similar patterns play out across New Jersey and Virginia – races that were supposed to be tight, but ended up being blowouts for Democrats. In New Jersey, State Rep. Jack Ciattarelli (16) lost by 13 points, even though polling suggested a nail-biter. In Virginia, Spanberger cruised by roughly 14%. These are not small margins.

If there’s one takeaway from last night, it’s that conservatives must put forward candidates that people want to vote for – not just candidates who are next in line or who have name recognition.

There’s also the question of perception – especially when it comes to who gets blamed for national issues like the ongoing government shutdown. Whether it’s fair or not, a lot of voters, especially in lean-blue states, are putting that blame on conservative leaders. That showed up clearly in places like Virginia, where federal workers were feeling the squeeze.

And then there’s California – always its own story. Proposition 50 passed by a wide margin, handing Governor Gavin Newsom a big win as he eyes the White House in 2028. Make no mistake: That ballot measure wasn’t just about redistricting. It was an attempt to be a national player and a test run for his national ambitions. So where does all this leave us? We learned that enthusiasm on the Left is still strong – especially among young voters. We learned that the Independent lane is wider than ever. And we learned that conservatives can’t afford to retreat or grow cynical.

Look, I get it. It’s easy to get discouraged when it feels like your side didn’t have a great night. But these weren’t states that conservatives were “supposed” to win. New York, New Jersey, Virginia – these are tough battlegrounds that have seen many conservatives move south. What matters now is what we do with what we learned going forward.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more analysis of last night’s election results across the country. We also spoke with my brother, ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow, who joined the broadcast live from Mar-a-Lago, where he is meeting with the CPAC to strategize how we can combat the deadly persecution of Christians in Nigeria and around the world.

Watch the full broadcast below: