Trump’s Midterm Meltdown

On Tuesday, Donald Trump and the Republicans lost both the House and the Senate in a crushing midterm defeat. Less than two years after he was sworn in, seemingly all-powerful, the dream of Trumpism has been shattered in the minds of millions.

In this episode of Against the Stream, Victor Murray is joined by Fred Weston to look at what lies behind the result. Texas now has a Democrat in every statewide office. Kansas elected its first Democratic senator in 94 years. In Dearborn, where Trump won in 2024, Abdul El-Sayed took 82 per cent on his way to becoming the first Muslim senator. Young voters swung 32 points, and a third of them now call themselves democratic socialists.

The reason is simple. Trump promised the best jobs and the biggest paychecks. Instead, manufacturing jobs are disappearing, prices are up almost 7 per cent since he took office, and the share of national income going to wages is the lowest on record.

But this was a vote against Trump, not for the Democrats. They remain deeply unpopular, and whoever wins in 2028 will inherit a $40 trillion debt, an AI bubble on the verge of bursting and enormous pressure to make workers pay. With 60 per cent of Americans saying they would support a third party, the conditions are maturing for a real break with the two-party system.

New episodes of Against the Stream every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube.

📖 Recommended reading 📖 America Can’t Afford an AI Recession – The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/11/ai-data-center-spending-economy/689237/ ‘Nobody’s listening’: 5 things Americans told me about the economy that Washington needs to hear | CNN Business https://edition.cnn.com/2026/11/01/economy/americans-midterm-personal-economics The meaning of Donald Trump: a Marxist analysis https://marxist.com/the-meaning-of-donald-trump-a-marxist-analysis.htm Communism vs Common sense – White House Instagram https://www.instagram.com/whitehouse/reel/DfS_leZRBzf/

⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️ 0:00 Midterm election results 15:15 Why Trump lost 35:05 The splintering of MAGA 45:03 Can the Democrats deliver? 51:23 The DSA and the case for a third party 1:03:03 America’s coming class struggle 🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm 📚 Marxist literature: https://wellred-books.com/ 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443 📱 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/ 💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/