The New York Times editorial board took a victory lap Tuesday night following the Democratic Party’s sweeping wins in the midterm elections, insisting that now is the time for Americans to “feel pride.”
“In the face of the president’s many attempts to manipulate the midterm elections — through extreme gerrymandering, false claims of voter fraud, efforts to block mail voting and more — tens of millions of Americans responded by turning out and rejecting the Republican Party that has enabled him,” the Times’ Editorial Board wrote in the piece, titled “The American People Have Repudiated Trump.”
The article went on to list the key races in which Republicans lost Tuesday night, adding that the party “lost because many independents and even Republicans consider Mr. Trump’s second term to be a failure.”
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“The outcome creates a crucial check on Mr. Trump’s autocratic behavior,” the editorial board wrote. “It empowers Democrats to investigate his corruption and law breaking and pass legislation that offers an alternative to his counterproductive agenda. The country already feels changed, and it will in fact be changed in January.”
The comments come after Democrats recaptured both the House of Representatives and the Senate, while also winning several key gubernatorial races, in an electoral setback for President Donald Trump and Republicans.
Notably, Democrats netted significant wins in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Iowa and Texas, where Senator-elect James Talarico — a current state senator — defeated Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in an upset victory.
“We just took back Texas,” Talarico told a crowd of supporters Tuesday night.
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Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed also delivered a crushing defeat against former Rep. Mike Rogers, further demolishing Republicans’ hopes of flipping the swing state in their favor.
By Wednesday morning, Democrats were on track to secure a 250-seat House majority — marking yet another unprecedented victory for the party.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis asserted that “President Trump was not on the ballot last night,” while doubling down on Trump’s success in his second term.
“The New York Times Editorial Board endorsed President Auto-Pen in 2020 and does nothing but peddle Democrat talking points,” the statement continued. “Despite the failing New York Times refusing to cover it, the President has delivered countless wins for the American people including the largest tax cut in American history, the most secure border in American history, the largest decrease in violent crime in history, and the largest decrease in the cost of prescription drugs in nearly 70 years.”
While the editorial board conceded that the country “still faces many long-term problems to which neither party has offered clear solutions,” it added that “nonetheless, this is a day to feel pride.”
“Aspiring authoritarians often use legislative elections to cement their power and further undermine democracy,” the article reads. “In 2026, the American people refused to allow Mr. Trump to do so. The system has held.”
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The board also praised who it described as “key workers” in the electoral process, patting the backs of “election workers, legal advocates and judges.”
“In many states, election officials took specific actions to stop interference from the Trump administration,” the board wrote. “Last year, the Justice Department demanded that states provide the federal government with voters’ birth dates, driver’s license information and partial Social Security numbers. Officials, including several Republicans, refused to comply.”
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The Times concluded by asserting that “the challenges ahead should not overshadow what Americans accomplished” in the midterm elections and that the country should be proud that “election workers, lawyers and judges defended the rules that protect the vote.”
“And tens of millions of Americans went to the polls to exercise their most fundamental democratic right,” the article reads. “Americans showed that the power to choose their leaders belongs to them. Now they must remain vigilant until officials certify every race and the winners take office.”
In light of Tuesday night’s election results, Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff signaled to Fox News Digital that the party’s overhaul of traditionally Republican states could signify a significant shift throughout the country.
“The easiest mistake Democrats can make is reading this as America suddenly falling in love with Democrats. It didn’t. Voters looked at the last two years and said, very clearly, ‘enough.’ When Republicans are losing places they should not even have to worry about, that is not some normal midterm correction. That is voters putting a brake on a presidency they think has gone too far,” Shroff told Fox News Digital.
“The real test starts now. Democrats just got handed something much more valuable than a good election night: leverage,” he added. “If they use it only for hearings, cable sound-bites and settling scores, they will blow it. Voters wanted a check, but they also want the government to make their lives better. Democrats have to prove they can do both.”
Newsbusters managing editor Curtis Houck also took note of The New York Times’ victory lap following the results.
“It’s intriguing to see that The New York Times has now decided that, perhaps for the first time since Trump came down the golden escalator, they actually love their country again,” Houck told Fox News Digital.
Houck went on to point to the article’s omission of key Democratic talking points — such as the cost of living and rising gas prices — while celebrating Republicans’ defeat Tuesday night.
“The Times has made clear in the editorial that they care more about impeaching President Trump and members of his cabinet and bankrupting junior staffers at various agencies with legal fees than improving the economy,” Houck added. “Nothing brings them greater joy in their professional or personal lives than seeing MAGA and its voters suffer under their thumb.”