Trump’s humiliating downfall

Michael Chugani November 09, 2026 06:00

November 3 will be remembered as the day Americans showed President Donald Trump their middle finger. It will go down in history as the day voters turned out in such large numbers to rid the country of Trump’s destructive domestic and foreign policies that it stunned the nation and the world.

I have never seen such a wipeout of a political party in Congressional midterm elections in my many years as a correspondent in the US. Congressional members of Trump’s Republican Party fell like dominoes. The US news outlet Axios described it as the Trump Obliteration.

Trump had used his divisive rule to deliberately turn Americans against each other. He subverted democracy, a cherished US value, by ignoring Congress and showing contempt for court rulings. His trade tariffs convinced the world that the US was no longer a reliable trading partner.

His berating of traditional US allies such as Europe and Canada but embrace of China and Russia angered policy hawks. Western allies hit by his punitive policies began lessening their reliance on the US and increasing their trade and political ties with China.

His Iran war, tariffs, and cuts to healthcare and other benefits raised the cost of living for many Americans. His so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, passed by the Republican-controlled Congress, shrunk benefits for the needy to finance tax cuts for the rich. Congressional Republicans so feared his wrath that they dared not stop him.

Americans could no longer stomach Trump’s policy excesses, alleged corruption involving him and his family, and his scarring of America's global image. They flooded polling booths. Millions had voted early by mail for fear Trump would use his dirty tricks to undermine the elections.

Many Republicans joined forces with Democrats to punish Trump by voting to oust Congressional Republicans in even so-called red states which are traditionally Republican strongholds. They sent a simple but powerful message that they wanted to end the Trump era.

Polls had shown Democrats would win the House of Representatives and possibly even the Senate. Not a single poll showed Democrats would win both Houses of Congress by a landslide. But that’s what happened. Republicans have become such a tiny minority in Congress that they are virtually powerless.

A Democrat-controlled Congress is certain to woo back allies that Trump drove into the arms of China and other countries. But some political analysts believe bringing allies fully back to the US fold could be an uphill struggle.

European allies lost trust in the US after Trump threatened to leave NATO and take over Greenland. Canada, which faced Trump's wrath, likewise decided it can no longer count the US as its closest partner. It has deepened trade ties with China and the European Union.

Tensions with Trump’s America have created pressure for Europe to hedge its bets. Some European leaders have visited Beijing to seek new political and trade ties. China is using Trump’s erratic behavior to portray itself as a stable partner.

But fully embracing China would be a hard sell for Europe and Canada. They have huge trade deficits with China. Increasing trade ties would cause even bigger deficits. Europe and Canada want to de-risk their ties with the US rather than rush into the arms of China. Their ties with the US are also too interwoven to untie.

When Democrats take control of Congress in January, they are expected to take a harder look at China. Republican and Democrat hawks alike are put off by Trump's chumminess with China's President, Xi Jinping. They see China as a competitor which wants to dominate AI and replace the US as the global leader.

Trump had reined in Republican China hawks, but the election outcome has weakened his hand. Republican China hawks are likely to defy Trump by taking a tough approach.

Trump had put on the back burner a US$14 billion weapons sale to Taiwan in deference to Xi. He called the arms package a bargaining chip. A Democrat-controlled Congress is almost certain to pressure Trump to fast-track the sale.

Taiwan has cross-party support in Congress. Many members of Congress have visited Taipei, including Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who visited Taipei in 2022 when she was Speaker of the House to meet Taiwan’s top leaders.

Taiwan has influential lobby groups in Washington that will increase their outreach to members of Congress. But Congressional leaders know Taiwan is a red line for China. Beijing held live fire drills and encircled Taiwan to make that clear after the Pelosi visit. I doubt a Democrat-controlled Congress will push too far against China’s red line like Pelosi did.

Trump is expected to attend the APEC leaders meeting in Shenzhen later this month. How will he be greeted by Xi and other world leaders now that he has emerged from the Congressional midterm elections a weakened and broken president who will serve out his remaining two years as a lame duck?

Russian President Vladimir Putin had proposed a trilateral meeting in Shenzhen between himself, Xi, and Trump. It will be historic if the meeting actually takes place.

How much sway will he have with world leaders now that Democrats will soon control Congress? But lame duck presidents traditionally turn to foreign policy. They formulate day-to-day foreign policy. The role of Congress is to provide constitutional checks.

Trump has already made clear he intends to play hardball as a lame duck president. World leaders know his brash style. Expectations are low that the trilateral meeting between the world’s three most powerful leaders will produce anything meaningful. But it is in Trump’s DNA to continue being chummy with Xi and Putin regardless of the election outcome. We will know soon if that DNA holds.

Michael Chugani

A Hong Kong-born American citizen who has worked for many years as a journalist in Hong Kong, the USA and London.