Opinion: Voters rejected Trump and his Republican allies

This election was always about Trump. “Vote like I’m on the ballot,” President Donald Trump boldly insisted. And oh boy, did they ever, in politically seismic fashion. Americans stormed the polls and voted as if the president were on the ballot, in jaw-dropping numbers. Without hesitation, they rejected Trump and rebuked his handpicked candidates from coast to coast.

Trump helped Democrats win elections in states they hadn't won in decades. By making himself the central figure in the campaign, he made this election the rise and fall of his political brand. His illusion of invincibility vanished. He confused fear with loyalty, obedience with support, and power with the responsibility of governing. This is now the gob-smacking Trump legacy.

It appears to me that voters rejected Trump’s corruption, cruelty, reckless war, costly economic failures and contempt for democratic institutions, the defining features of his presidency. They voted against the exploitation of racial, gender and cultural divisions to stay in power, a strategy that collapsed in the face of a rising oligarchy. Republican lawmakers sold their political souls, doing nothing to stop Trump and offering only pathetic acquiescence as he acted like a malevolent king.

In Arizona, a Democratic election trifecta took control of the Senate, the House, and the governor's office, marking a wholesale repudiation of 60 years of Republican rule. Yes, they voted as if Trump were on the ballot, signaling an undeniable political sea change in the state.

Congressman Juan Ciscomani was still trailing JoAnna Mendoza Thursday , despite Elon Musk's big-money contributions. Voters did not yield to the millions spent to control their future. Musk threw his fortune at the midterms and lost after spending nearly half a billion dollars to buy America. This election repudiated the small, selfish men plundering our country. It is the biggest defeat in American political history for the filthy-rich mega donors and corporate PACs seeking fat government contracts.

Under Trump and Congress, the national debt surpassed a record $40 trillion. They let Musk gut federal agencies and programs Americans rely on. They let Trump accept a free luxury jet from Qatar, with plans to eventually transfer it to Trump's presidential library. Meanwhile, Trump made $1.4 billion from his family's cryptocurrency business deals. They supported Trump’s incessant babbling about his grand, gold-and-glorious ballroom, which will cost taxpayers to finish.

Ciscomani backing Trump’s entire legislative agenda looks like it will cost him. Telling voters not to trust their own wallets taught us to doubt everything he said. Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill for the rich cut benefits for people who need them, cut taxes for billionaires who don’t, and borrowed the difference from children who aren’t old enough to vote.

The President reported billions in personal income in 2025, enriching himself in our Oval Office while fighting not for us but only for Donald. He weaponized the office of the President to enrich himself, friends and family, and signaled he could pardon himself on the way out. Today, Trump’s political career is on the clock.

Civic consciousness in America has awakened. A definitive line has been drawn. Today, we, the people, have a more perfect union. We must repair the damage and begin the important work of restoring the country, rebuilding institutions, and fulfilling our obligations. Rebuilding will require persistence, competence, and people willing to do their jobs without demanding stone monuments, golden statues, or buildings named after them. It will put people over party, politics and profit.

President Trump recently posted on social media: “I wasn’t on the ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” Yeah, right, Donald.

This election proved that silence was not an option. Denying reality was not virtuous, and not voting was intolerable. Americans must now work to restore constitutional authority, accountability and the rule of law and reclaim democracy. Now is a good day to begin.