The beginning of the end of Trumpism

BarcelonaWhat the United States has just experienced has not been a normal midterm election, in which the electorate rebalances power and grants the majority of the chambers to the party that opposes the president. The scale of the Republican defeat goes much further. The Democrats have won in places where, just two years ago, Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris by 25 points, such as Iowa or Tennessee. It had been nearly a century since Kansas sent a Democratic senator to Washington. Georgia will have a Black female governor for the first time. The progressive Abdul El-Sayed will be the first Muslim senator in history for Michigan. And the preacher James Talarico has managed to turn Texas, until now a Republican bastion, into a blue state thanks to the Latino vote. Texas and also New Mexico will have governors of Hispanic descent. And California, the first Latino governor since 1878. The political earthquake is of such proportions that it will take time to analyze it in detail, but while there are still states counting votes, it can certainly be said that November 4, 2026, will go down in history as the day that marked the beginning of the end of Trumpism.

Because what has been defeated at the polls is not just specific policies, but an entire political movement that had vampirized the Republican Party and turned it into a cult where only one principle reigned: adulation of the leader. The leader, however, has been strongly discredited at the polls, abandoned by his own, and now the Republicans will have to think about what they will do: whether they continue down a path that leads them directly to defeat or force a change of course that restores common sense to the party.

With their vote, Americans have said no to many things. No to the arbitrary use of military force. No to breaking basic consensuses. No to sidelining human rights. No to hating your immigrant neighbors. No to the widespread corruption of the Trump clan. No to the intimidation of the press, universities, and the courts. No to the excessive power of the techno-oligarchs. No to breaking relations with traditional allies. No to disregarding science and scientists on issues of health or climate change. No to abandoning the Third World to its fate. No to turning the economy into a big casino where the same ones always win. Ultimately, it has been the revolt of the common citizen, the one who saw prices rising every day due to misguided policies, together with the minorities who have felt threatened, that have made the change possible. Today it can be said that the United States has a different face than it did just 24 hours ago.

However, it cannot be ignored that Trump still has two years left in his term, although his capacity to do harm has been limited this Tuesday. With control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, Democrats can mitigate the impact of Trumpist policies and initiate investigation committees into the multiple scandals affecting the Trump administration. But we will have to be vigilant, because Trump is currently a wounded animal in his pride. And that can make him especially dangerous.