Midterms 2026: Trump denounces "fixed" elections without proof after accepting the results

Donald Trump came back Thursday, November 5, on his commitment to accept the results of the US mid-term elections. Since the Oval Bureau, the Republican President has denounced "fixed" elections, without presenting any evidence to support this general accusation. RTBF, RTS and France 24 report the same challenge, while the projections give the Democrats a clear majority in both chambers of Congress. [S2] [S4] [S6]

A general accusation, still partial results

" Our elections are so rigged, you have no idea," Donald Trump told journalists. TF1 Info stated that he mentioned the elections in Los Angeles. This statement contrasts with his Tuesday night position when he promised to accept the results. The records consulted do not show any evidence of any rigging of the entire election. [S1] [S2] [S4]

According to CNN and Fox News projections from RTBF and RTS, Democrats are assured of at least 250 seats in the House of Representatives. Counting continues in about 20 electoral districts. In the Senate, they would have at least 54 out of every 100 elected, after having turned seven seats. The results of Alaska and Mississippi remain expected in these publications, so these figures do not constitute a definitive certified balance sheet. [S2] [S4]

RFI mentioned 228 democratic seats already acquired in the House in its article published earlier on 5 November, while referring to projections exceeding 250 seats. The publications thus describe different statements of the count, without diverging on the announced majority. However, their convergence is not as important as independent confirmations: Le Journal de Montréal and La Libre publish texts signed by AFP, while Watson also mentions this agency. [S3] [S5] [S7] [S8]

In Alaska, Trump demands the transfer of votes

The presidential challenge included the senatorial race in Alaska. A homonym of outgoing Republican Senator Dan Sullivan is among the candidates. Donald Trump asks on Truth Social that the votes of this other candidate be attributed to the outgoing. He therefore called not only for a check of the count, but for a modification of the beneficiary of the votes cast. [S2] [S4]

At the stage described on Thursday, Democrat Mary Peltola beat the outgoing senator by about 600 votes, with nearly 75% of the ballots stripped. The other Dan Sullivan won some 3,600 votes, or 1.7% of the vote. In Mississippi, Scott Colom had a provisional advance of 1,138 votes over Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith after counting 96% of the ballots. These partial results do not allow the winners to be identified. [S5] [S7]

The origin of the homonymous application remains contested. The RTS reports that the New York Times sees it as a manoeuvre to dilute the voices of the outgoing, while the Democrats deny it was the origin. Axios points out that the U.S. Department of Justice sought to intervene in this race invoking a risk of confusion among voters. This precise controversy must be distinguished from the presidential accusation against all elections. [S4] [S9]

For voters, the issue is respect for individual choice. Preventing confusion between two names and reassigning ballots are two different approaches. It is not clear from the evidence that each person who chose the same name really wanted to vote for. They alone are not sufficient to justify the transfer requested by Donald Trump. [S4] [S9]

A Congress Called to Account

The new Congress is due to take office on 3 January. The Democratic majority in the Senate may object to federal appointments submitted for approval. In the House, the control of committees will give the Democrats the means of investigation and the possibility of assigning witnesses to appear. The electoral victory thus strengthens the instruments of control of the executive, without implying that the president loses any capacity for action. [S2] [S8]

Hakeem Jeffries, who has come forward to become Speaker of the House, announces two priorities: to reduce the cost of living and to hold the administration accountable. His accusations of corruption are at this stage of political discourse, not of judicial conclusions set out in these articles. For residents, the decline in daily spending remains a promise: sources describe a new distribution of powers and intentions, not yet adopted measures. [S4] [S8]