As we survey the wreckage of Republican political fortunes, it’s clear what comes next.
asserted
what → survey → fortunes
Payback is the first priority of Democrats who want to use their victories to grind Republicans into the mud.
asserted
who → want → mud
You saw it in the gloating, Mamdani-esque victory speech from Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed, in which he sarcastically referred to Vice President JD Vance as “habibi” who will have to eat crow when the VP swears him in.
asserted
VP → see → him
You saw it in Minnesota Sen.-elect Peggy Flanagan’s speech: “We will rip ICE apart.”
asserted
We → see → ICE
You saw it in the salivating from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) about impeaching Trump.
asserted
You → see → Trump
You saw it in the ugly threats against Elon Musk and “greedy billionaires.”
asserted
You → see → Musk
Musk is a “traitor to the West,” said NYU marketing professor Scott Galloway, suggesting Musk should be executed: “We lined up the Rosenbergs against a wall.”
asserted
We → say → wall
The only upside of Democrat hubris is that it will surely lead them to overreach and turn off a volatile electorate before 2028.
asserted
it → lead → 2028
Democrats papered over their civil war during the campaign, apart from a last-minute Haley Stevens defection in Michigan, when a cocky El-Sayed brushed off his former primary rival’s charges of antisemitism.
asserted
Sayed → paper → antisemitism
The party establishment’s punishment of Stevens was brutal, with some saying she was mentally ill and others suggesting her Jewish fiancé was controlling her.
asserted
fiancé → say → her
James Carville said she wasn’t even “worth a used condom.”
asserted
she → say → condom
She served as a warning to any Dem who tries to rebel against the socialist takeover.
asserted
who → serve → takeover
The party has made its choice.
asserted
party → make → choice
No pretending
But President Trump can’t pretend the electoral rout wasn’t a referendum on him and his smashmouth politics that needlessly alienates people.
asserted
that → pretend → people
He told voters to pretend he’s on the ballot.
asserted
he → tell → ballot
He handpicked dud candidates.
asserted
He → handpicke → candidates
He can’t wipe his hands of the calamity.
asserted
He → wipe → calamity
Exit polls show Tuesday was a referendum on Trump, with his approval at 38%, the lowest for a president in almost 20 years.
asserted
approval → show → years
Voters blamed him for high prices and gas costs and called the Iran war a mistake.
asserted
Voters → blame → war
After such a mighty shellacking for the Republicans, theories for what went wrong are like a Rorschach inkblot test.
asserted
what → go → test
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich picked the problem in May when he told “Pod Force One” that the price of gas would be the “biggest single factor in the election.
uncertain
price → pick → election
If you tell me the price of gasoline on Labor Day, I’m pretty confident I can tell you about the election.”
asserted
I → tell → election
On Wednesday, he recalled: “The price of gasoline on Labor Day was something like $4.55 a gallon on average.
asserted
price → recall → 4.55
What that meant was every American would be angry.
asserted
American → mean → What
We’re still a country that relies very heavily on driving.
asserted
that → ’re → driving
So you start out with the idea people were very unhappy economically.”
asserted
people → start → idea
Every week, Post columnist Miranda Devine sits down for exclusive and candid conversations with the most influential disruptors in Washington on ‘Pod Force One.’
asserted
Devine → sit → One
Gingrich also said Trump never quite explained the Iran war to voters.
asserted
Trump → say → voters
At a town hall in Maine last week, Troy Jackson encapsulated all the messages that Democrats successfully injected into the campaign and that later showed up in exit polls: the cost of living, gas prices, immigration enforcement, corruption and the war.
asserted
that → encapsulate → living
A majority of Maine households use fuel oil as their primary heating source and the cost has almost doubled in the last year, from an average of $3.31 per gallon In October 2025, to $6.05 last month.
asserted
cost → use → 6.05
As people filled their tanks, cost was top of mind, and Jackson hammered home the blame to Trump.
asserted
Jackson → fill → Trump
“I think we’re at 83% higher than we were last year . . . that’s directly because of the Iran war.
asserted
that → think → war
And it means that people this winter are going have an incredibly hard time getting their home heated . . .
asserted
home → mean → time
Now you’re talking about $1,800, $2,000, to fill your tank.”
asserted
you → talk → tank
He blamed “Elon Musk and his merry band of scumbags” for Mainers’ affordability problems.
asserted
He → blame → problems
GOP Rep. Nick LaLota claims victory against ‘kinky’ challenger Chris Gallant to hold onto Long Island seat
-
uncertain
LaLota → claim → seat
GOP braces for mad dash to push conservative bills through Congress before Dem takeover
-
asserted
GOP → brace → takeover
Far-left tees up AOC for 2028 presidential run after midterm blue wave
asserted
left → tee → wave
- DeSantis 2028 buzz builds after Florida withstands blue wave: ‘Only reason Florida didn’t fall’
asserted
Florida → build → wave
“The billionaire class is not going to get what they want if we change the people that are capitulating to Donald Trump.”
asserted
that → go → Trump
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
