How America Was Swept by an Anti-Trump Wave
Susan Glasser joins this week’s FP Live podcast.
In the aftermath of the 2022 midterm elections, the Democrats secured control of both the House and Senate, marking a significant victory over President Donald Trump and his Republican Party. Analyst Susan Glasser, a staff writer for the New Yorker and former editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy, suggested that the election could be one of the most decisive rejections of an American president in history.
Comparing the results to those of 1974 and 1976, Glasser noted that the Democrats currently hold a 13-percentage-point lead over the Republicans in the popular vote.
Historically, the last time a political shift of this magnitude occurred was during the elections of 1946 and 1948, with the Democrats gaining over 35 seats in the House of Representatives and up to 8 seats in the Senate. Unlike previous elections, this one was driven by the campaign surrounding the president, his policies, and his leadership.
One notable factor in the election was the growing opposition to the Iran war, which caused significant political fallout for Trump and the Republicans. Vice President Mike Pence's harsh critique of Trump's signature policy was unprecedented and raised questions about the implications of such dissent within the executive branch.
While some politicians and pundits have argued that the election was primarily driven by the Iran war and its economic consequences, Glasser believes that the results are a broader repudiation of the Trump administration.
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