After Democrats reclaimed control of Congress in the 2026 midterms, President Donald Trump blamed Republican losses on poor messaging while making false, misleading or unsupported claims about the stock market, personal wealth, deportations, Russian sanctions, gasoline prices and crime.
In his first sit-down interview since the midterm elections that saw Democrats retake control of both the House and Senate, President Donald Trump blamed Republicans’ poor showing on “bad messaging” — essentially not properly conveying to American voters all of the accomplishments of his second term.
But in his recounting of events, Trump repeatedly twisted the facts on the economy, immigration, gasoline prices, sanctions on Russia, crime and the reasons for the dramatic rise in his net worth during his presidency.
- Pressed on whether his business ventures posed a conflict of interest, Trump falsely claimed the dramatic increase in his net worth since being reelected was due to the stock market’s rise, and he made other false or misleading claims.
- Trump said the stock market “lost almost 2,000 points because of the Democrats'” sweeping victories in the midterms. The stock market has been volatile in the days after the election, but the Dow Jones was a little higher at the close on Nov. 9 than it was on Election Day. The S&P 500 is down slightly, less than 0.3%.
- The president said there are people on the “pretty far right that would like everybody taken out” — referring to the deportation of all immigrants in the country illegally, even if they haven’t broken the law otherwise. But deporting everyone has been Trump’s stated position for years.
- Trump claimed that he “didn’t lift diesel sanctions” on Russia. But his administration issued a temporary license in October that exempted imports of Russian diesel fuel from sanctions.
- Trump falsely claimed that he had brought gas below $2 per gallon in Iowa before the war with Iran.
- Asked about Americans’ views on the economy, particularly concerns about inflation, Trump said that “we have historically good numbers” and pivoted to talking about the stock market. Some economic metrics are indeed historically good, such as the low unemployment rate. But inflation has gone up under Trump.
- The president misrepresented the polls and final margin in the Ohio Senate race, in claiming he boosted Republican Sen. Jon Husted’s chances.
- Trump appeared to inflate the decrease in total crime in Washington, D.C., and he wrongly said that “we haven’t had a murder in a long time” in the city.
The president’s interview with Ross Douthat of CBS News’ “60 Minutes” was conducted on Nov. 6, and aired two days later.
