The midterm results set off a wave of gloating and Schadenfreude across Europe’s liberal elite, with media outlets churning out a flurry of premature obituaries for the Trump presidency and the MAGA movement.
“The death knell of Trumpism has finally sounded,” Moira Donegan declared in the British daily Guardian. Continuing in the same disparaging vein, she added that “Trump will enter 2027 with a hostile Congress, noticeably diminished cognitive power and physical stamina, a cratering approval rating and a term limit.”
In another op-ed, The Guardian‘s David Smith asked: “Is this the beginning of the end for Trump?”
Other media outlets are already dreaming of a 2028 presidential win, with The Independent (UK) feting Democratic Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff as the “Next Barack Obama.”
The gloating is so apparent that former German ambassador to the U.S. Wolfgang Ischinger told Germans to tone it down. “I warn against triumphant gloating or Schadenfreude over this defeat of the Republicans,” Ischinger said in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt. “Trump still has the power to act on foreign policy,” he added, referring to U.S. support for Ukraine.
The German magazine Der Spiegel dubbed President Trump an autocrat. “The autocrats’ biggest mistake?” columnist Michael Sauga asked, answering his own question: “Their own track record.”
“The Republicans’ defeat reveals a global pattern: From Budapest to Belgrade, autocrats are stumbling over inflation, cronyism, and corruption,” he added.
Berlin and the European Union headquarters in Brussels welcomed the outcome. “In Berlin and Brussels, the election result is bringing cautious optimism,” German newspaper Der Merkur noted.
Leading French newspaper Le Monde claimed that President Trump suffered “historic defeats from Texas to Michigan.”
“The Republicans’ crushing defeat was above all a rejection of Trump himself, his administration, his war in Iran alongside Israel, and institutionalized corruption,” the daily added.
European leaders, Iran’s Mullah cheer midterm results
Breaking with tradition, German politicians cheered the results of the U.S. House and Senate election. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was among the first to congratulate the Democrats, German magazine Der Stern reported:
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius congratulated the Democrats on winning the U.S. congressional elections. “Congratulations to the Democrats,” Pistorius said on Wednesday at a meeting in Berlin. “It is a historic win for the Democrats in the House and the Senate.” The minister added: “Just like in the past, we will work closely with the Democrats. That is obvious.”
Others in Berlin felt just as strongly about the Democrats’ victory:
“A morning of confidence. The story of liberal democracy is far from over,” German Education Minister and deputy CDU [Christian Democratic party] leader Karin Prien wrote on X, calling the election result a “powerful vote.” The German government’s transatlantic coordinator, Metin Hakverdi, also told the German Press Agency (dpa) that the outcome was historic. [Der Merkur]
“It happened in Brazil. It just happened in the US. And it will soon happen in Spain,” Spain’s leftist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez proclaimed.
The European liberal establishment was joined in the cheering by Iran’s mullah regime. “Iranian leaders welcome US midterms,” Qatari state broadcaster Al Jazeera reported. (Read more: Legal Insurrection, 11/4/2026) (Archive)