US President Donald Trump walked away from reporters outside the White House on Friday after a British journalist shouted, "How does it feel being a loser, Mr President?" He did not answer. He had been speaking to reporters as he left for Florida, holding a large umbrella.
Voters went to the polls on Wednesday for Senate and House seats. Trump's party lost seats across the board, with surprise Democratic wins in previously safe Republican states including Texas. Democrats now hold a majority in both chambers. Pundits said voters rejected his policies, with the war in Iran, tariffs and the rising cost of living all contributing.
In Britain, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, previously full of praise for Trump, told Independent editor-in-chief Geordie Greig on The Talk Show that the results were "entirely self-inflicted" and that "Voters want results". She pointed to foreign policy, the president's tariffs and threats to allies including Canada and Greenland.
She described Trump's treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House as awful, and said she did not like how he was rude about Sir Keir Starmer. She added that she would have been content if Democratic nominee Kamala Harris had won in 2024, quipping that she liked them both equally.
Asked whether he deserved to be thrashed, she said he had not been acting in a way she would consider conservative. She asked where the push was for free markets, better trade and more enforcement of trade rules, rather than protectionism, America First and squabbling with allies. She said President Trump should be separated from the United States because the special relationship is with the country, repeated that she did not like his rudeness about Keir Starmer, and again called the treatment of President Zelensky awful.
Vice-President JD Vance also shifted blame toward the war in Iran in a long post on X, appealing to Republican voters to give the MAGA movement another chance. He said, "The reason we lost is the war. The President himself said so last night," and asked whether losing the Senate for the next six years was a cost worth arguing for.
Trump announced that long-running chief of staff Susie Wiles was out and would be replaced by deputy Stephen Miller. He told reporters, "I wanted to make a change. I think Susie's done a very good job, great job, but... we gotta make moves. Sometimes in life, you have to make moves." A senior White House official told the Daily Mail that Wiles gave her resignation. Reports said Trump berated her in the Oval Office over the result, that she asked to stay until February and was refused, and that she then resigned. A White House official denied that he raised his voice, saying he would never yell at Susie. It remains to be seen whether she will be the only departure.