The Republican defeat in the legislative elections on November 3 opened a new political scenario for Donald Trump, who must now govern with a Democratic opposition at the head of both chambers of Congress. While the president questions the transparency of the elections and acknowledges errors in his immigration policy, his main international allies are looking for signals about the future of the US strategy in the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

First modification: 11/09/2026 - 19:55

The electoral defeat of the Republican Party in the midterm elections on November 3 begins to project its consequences beyond the borders of the United States. With Democrats leading both chambers of Congress, President Donald Trump faces the complexity of advancing his political agenda, while his international allies try to determine whether the outcome of the polls will change the course of the White House's foreign posture.

However, the first signals from Washington are contradictory. And this Monday, November 9, President Donald Trump questioned the legitimacy of the elections that harmed his party and admitted that some of his policies may have been too harsh. Meanwhile, his Administration maintains an international agenda marked by the confrontation with Iran, and by attempts to promote negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

And in this context, a meeting of G7 foreign ministers will be held this week in Paris, in which representatives of the main industrialized economies will evaluate to what extent the Republican defeat can limit the White House's capacity for action and whether there is room for a modification of American priorities in the world.

Trump questions the transparency of the elections

Just days after the Republican defeat, Trump questioned the clarity of the US electoral processes. This Monday, the president used his social network Truth Social to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the November 3 elections, in which Democrats gained control of both chambers of Congress.

"Does anyone really believe that these 'elections' were honest? How could the polls be so wrong?" the president wrote.

In the same message, Trump questioned the weight of early votes in the results and suggested that the computer systems used during the electoral process could have had a determining influence.

"Some 'waves' of early voting were so massive that it was impossible to win, no matter how many people turned out to vote," he said. And he concluded: "Everything revolves around the machines, which are much more important than the voter!"

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The statements change the speech of the president, who until then had not directly questioned the results of the elections and had even recognized that some of his own political decisions could have harmed the Republican candidates.

Trump had pointed out, in particular, that the war started against Iran on February 28 and its immigration policies could influence the electoral behavior of his voters. He had also expressed his willingness to work with Democrats in Congress starting in January, when the new legislature begins.

However, his recent statements recover a speech that he had already used after the 2020 presidential elections, when he refused to recognize his defeat against Democrat Joe Biden and repeatedly questioned the reliability of the electoral system, especially voting by mail.

And this time, their criticism also extends to the computer systems used by states during voting, suggesting that machines and technological procedures may have more weight than the will of citizens expressed at the polls.

A defeat that forces us to review internal policy

The electoral defeat also exposed the erosion of some of the main policies promoted by Trump, especially on immigration and economic matters.

One of the most significant political data was the behavior of the Hispanic electorate, votes that had contributed to the president's re-election in 2024. On this occasion, a part of those voters turned against the Republicans, disappointed by the unfulfilled promises to reduce prices and by the perception that the deportation operations carried out by the immigration authority had been indiscriminate.

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In an interview with CBS, broadcast on Sunday, November 8, Trump acknowledged that his policy of mass deportations had been too harsh.

"I think it was too harsh," declared the president when asked about his immigration strategy. However, he did not clarify whether he plans to introduce specific changes.

The recognition contrasts with another recent decision by the White House: the promotion of Stephen Miller to the position of chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles. Miller, until then deputy chief of staff for policy, is considered one of the main architects of Trump's immigration policy and a representative of the extreme right within his Administration.

Vice President JD Vance also left open the possibility of reviewing some enforcement mechanisms of immigration policy. In a message published in X after the Republican defeat, he said he was "open to the idea of ​​changing law enforcement practices" against irregular migration.

Among the alternatives raised by Vance is "focusing more, for example, on companies that hire irregular workers."

The G7 seeks signals about the future of US foreign policy

As Washington processes the domestic consequences of the defeat, the United States' main international allies are seeking to determine whether the election result can change the White House's diplomatic priorities.

That is one of the central objectives of the meeting of G7 foreign ministers, which began this Monday in Paris and brings together representatives from the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada, in addition to the European Union.

The meeting, initially scheduled in Marseille, was moved to the French capital for security, logistical and operational reasons. The event also includes the participation of representatives from Ukraine, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Egypt.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Paris to participate in the meetings, his first appearance before the group's allies after the midterm elections.

G7 diplomats consider that Democratic advances could reduce Trump's room for maneuver, although they warn that they will not necessarily mean a return to traditional American multilateralism. Foreign policy remains largely under the control of the president.

Rubio's presence is relevant because Washington's partners seek to know what the United States' priorities will be in the coming months, particularly in the face of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Before traveling to France, the State Department had announced that the secretary's objective would be to promote American interests in his meetings with international representatives.

Rubio explained that he hoped to use the meeting to advance an agenda focused on United Nations accountability and technological innovation.

"Drive true accountability at the UN and promote an innovation-focused agenda to ensure the future of superintelligence," he wrote in X.

The US position towards the United Nations is marked by differences between the Trump Administration and many of its allies. Washington has demanded greater transparency and justification of the organization's activities, while calling for the elimination of organizations and programs that it considers unnecessary.

He has also insisted that the objectives of the United Nations do not contradict the interests defined by the United States, while maintaining a position of reluctance to accept international supervision mechanisms.

In technological matters, the Administration seeks to consolidate US leadership in artificial intelligence and promote an innovation agenda, at a time when numerous countries are calling for progress in the regulation of this technology.

Ukraine, between negotiations and Russian military pressure

The war in Ukraine will be one of the main issues on the G7 agenda, especially since the Paris meeting precedes trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States scheduled for this Tuesday and Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.

The meeting seeks to advance diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, although important military and political obstacles remain.

The participation of European representatives in the talks is a sign of the allies' concern not to be relegated from decisions about the future of Ukraine.

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In this sense, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned on November 5 that Europe risks becoming irrelevant in efforts to end the war if its states continue to develop diplomatic initiatives separately, instead of agreeing on a common strategy and designating a shared representative.

And in the military field, G7 diplomats describe a particularly delicate situation. Although the combat front has largely stabilized and no major territorial advances are expected, Russia has reportedly modified its tactics to concentrate its attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

The goal would be to cause a nationwide blackout during the winter, increasing pressure on the population and authorities in kyiv.

Adding to that threat is the shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles and other air defense systems, considered one of Ukraine's most pressing military vulnerabilities. Therefore, one of the objectives of the G7 meeting will be to maintain pressure on Moscow and mobilize additional military, financial and energy support for the Ukrainian Government.

Iran, the main focus of tension between Washington and its allies

The other major conflict that conditions the international position of the United States is the war against Iran. The US military intervention has become one of the issues that most worries the G7 partners, who have repeatedly expressed their skepticism about Washington's strategy and fear that a new military escalation will aggravate the regional crisis.

The issue will feature prominently in the Paris talks, especially after recent US bombings against Iranian territory, including the most recent attack on the island of Qeshm, located at the exit of the Strait of Hormuz.

Rubio, however, was not very optimistic about the possibilities of reaching an agreement with Tehran.

"I wouldn't say we are on the verge of making a breakthrough," he said before arriving in the French capital.

The Secretary of State defended the continuity of the US strategy and maintained that, sometimes, leaders must maintain unpopular policies when they consider them to be correct.

"Right now, it hasn't been very productive because the Iranian demands are not only unacceptable, but in some cases they are outrageous, ridiculous and really unrealistic," he added.

The statements show that, despite the electoral setback, Washington does not seem willing to immediately modify its position towards Iran. The lack of diplomatic progress and the possibility of new attacks maintain concern among allies, who fear that the conflict will spread and cause greater instability in the Middle East.

One of the countries that has publicly expressed its rejection of a new escalation is Türkiye. Its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, asked this Monday to avoid new US attacks against Iran and defended the need to recover dialogue as a way to resolve the crisis.

"We do not want a new wave of attacks against Iran to be launched or for our region to be plunged into greater instability," he told reporters during his return from a visit to Azerbaijan.

Erdogan said he had brought his concerns directly to Trump during a telephone conversation the previous week.

"I expressed to Mr. Trump our reservations. We hope that common sense prevails and that the region is saved from falling to the brink of disaster," he said.

The Turkish leader also warned that "a major conflict would mean nothing more than new losses for our region."

With EFE, AFP and Reuters

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