Murdoch Papers Blame Trump for GOP Midterm Rout in 'Blue Tsunami' Verdict

Rupert Murdoch's two biggest American newspapers have delivered the same verdict on the 2026 midterm elections: President Donald Trump is to blame for the Republican Party's defeat. The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal — two of the most influential conservative voices in the country — said the president, not his candidates or his party's message, was the main architect of a Democratic sweep that handed both chambers to the opposition on Tuesday, November 3.

Key Points

• The New York Post's front page on Wednesday, November 4, showed President Trump beneath a giant wave in the style of "The Great Wave off Kanagawa", under the headline "BLUE TSUNAMI" and the line "Trump suffers historic rebuke as Dems romp in midterms".
• The Post's editorial board said Trump himself was to blame for the Republican defeat.
• The Wall Street Journal's editorial board went further under the headline "The Trump Reckoning Arrives", calling the results a "crushing verdict" and writing that Trump "is the main architect of this rout".
• Democrats won both the House and the Senate in the November 3 midterms, reshaping the final two years of Trump's second term.
• On election night, Trump attacked Fox News, calling its polls "always the worst" and saying he switched off because he "can't stand" co-host Jessica Tarlov.

What Happened

The morning after the polls closed, Murdoch's newspapers made their judgment impossible to miss. The New York Post, long seen as the president's favourite newspaper, turned its front page into visual mockery: Trump beneath a towering wave borrowed from the Japanese artist Hokusai, the White House small behind him, under two words in huge type — "BLUE TSUNAMI". Beneath it ran the line: "Trump suffers historic rebuke as Dems romp in midterms."

Inside, the paper's editorial board did not soften the message: it wrote that Trump was to blame for the defeat, a direct rejection of the president's own account. The Wall Street Journal's editorial board went further still. Under the headline "The Trump Reckoning Arrives", it called the results a "crushing verdict" and wrote: "True to form, President Trump is already blaming everyone else, but he is the main architect of this rout."

Both papers are owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Background: The Midterm Rout

The November 3 midterms ended in a Democratic sweep of both chambers, a result few Republican strategists had predicted at that scale. The defeat was felt most sharply in Texas, where Democrats won every statewide race, including the Senate contest, in a night Senator Ted Cruz himself described as a "blue tsunami" and an "ass kicking".

Trump's own response was defiant. He said on Truth Social that his name had not been on the ballots, and told The Wall Street Journal that the long-running Iran war was one factor in the defeat — a war he said he would pursue again. Fellow Republicans were less forgiving: in a BBC report, party figures blamed Trump directly for losing the House and Senate, citing unpopular policies, low approval ratings, and a focus on the Iran war over voters' everyday concerns.

Murdoch Papers Blame Trump for the Midterm Rout

The Post and the Journal are not casual critics. The Post has cheered Trump through much of his career, and the Journal's editorial page is the most widely read conservative opinion voice in American politics. That both papers chose the same morning to pin the defeat on the president himself is what makes their verdict so striking.

The Journal's language was the sharper of the two. Calling the outcome a "crushing verdict", it argued that the president's habit of blaming others — his candidates, his party, the polls — missed the point. "He is the main architect of this rout," the editorial said, placing responsibility squarely in the Oval Office rather than on the campaign trail.

The Post's cover carried the same message in pictures: Trump dwarfed by the wave, echoing Cruz's phrase — but where Cruz described a disaster that had befallen his party, the Post pointed at who it believed had caused it.

Reactions and Quotes

The Journal's editorial put it plainly: "True to form, President Trump is already blaming everyone else, but he is the main architect of this rout."

Trump spent election night attacking Fox News, the Murdoch-owned network. He called its polls "always the worst" and said he was turning the channel off because he "can't stand" liberal co-host Jessica Tarlov — a complaint aimed at the very media empire whose newspapers were, by morning, blaming him for the rout.

Other Republicans echoed the newspapers' verdict. Texas lobbyist Bill Miller told the BBC: "It's his fault. No one else is to blame here. This is a complete, total rejection of President Trump. It's a catastrophe of the first order."

Why It Matters

Murdoch's newspapers do more than report conservative opinion — they shape it. When the Post and the Journal both conclude that Trump caused the defeat, they give the rest of the Republican establishment permission to say the same thing out loud. That matters because the president's remaining agenda now depends on a Democratic Congress, and his ability to command his own party will be tested in every vote.

The rebuke also lands as Trump has promised to govern by veto, telling the Post he would become "Mr. Veto" if Democrats won Congress. With that scenario now real, can a president criticised by his own side's newspapers still hold his party together? Read our earlier coverage of fellow Republicans blaming Trump for the defeat and Ted Cruz calling the rout a 'blue tsunami'.

What Happens Next

Democrats take control of both chambers when the new Congress is seated in January, and the first test will be how aggressively they use their new powers — including investigations the president has warned he will fight. Trump has signalled he will veto Democratic legislation, setting up two years of confrontation.

Within the Republican Party, the blame game is only beginning, and the Murdoch verdict will fuel debate over the party's direction and whether Trump remains its standard-bearer into 2028.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the New York Post say about Trump after the midterms?
Its November 4 front page showed Trump beneath a giant wave under the headline "BLUE TSUNAMI", and its editorial board wrote that Trump was to blame.

What did The Wall Street Journal call the midterm results?
Under the headline "The Trump Reckoning Arrives", it called them a "crushing verdict" and wrote that Trump "is the main architect of this rout".

Who owns the New York Post and The Wall Street Journal?
Both are owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, which also owns Fox News.

What happened in the 2026 midterm elections?
Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate on November 3, including a sweep of every statewide race in Texas.

Why did Trump criticise Fox News on election night?
He called its polls "always the worst" and said he switched off because he "can't stand" co-host Jessica Tarlov.