After midterm defeat, the MAGA movement asks itself: "Trump has cost us"

Dallas: After the Republican Party suffered its worst defeat in decades in Tuesday's US midterm elections, President Donald Trump's "MAGA" movement has begun questioning itself. The words of a 59-year-old Dallas businessman who voted for Trump three times capture the mood: "People are angry with Trump; it is Trump who has caused us this loss."

Voters disillusioned by high fuel prices, the Iran war and corruption in Washington gave the Democrats clear majorities; the party could take as many as 56 Senate seats, captured the governorships of all seven battleground states Trump won in 2024, and swept every statewide office in Texas.

Trump's first big response to the defeat was to promote Stephen Miller, the architect of his harsh immigration crackdown, to White House chief of staff. Some senior Republican leaders have begun openly criticising the move; one Republican representative called Miller's elevation "a terrible mistake". Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson said he was saddened that corruption existed in the Trump administration too.

A data analysis based on 4.6 million internet posts found that more than 20 per cent of self-described MAGA loyalists expressed doubts about the movement's leadership and direction. "The movement must be rebuilt," says former White House adviser Steve Bannon; some want a movement less bound to a single man, while others say it is already dead. Notably, the old claims of election fraud have gone almost silent this time.