NOVEMBER 4, 2026
The Biggest Loser
The results of yesterday’s mid-term elections brought President Donald J. Trump’s decade as the centre of the American political universe – even during his four years out of the White House – to a decisive end, with his Republican Party losing both the House and the Senate, even in battleground or red districts where Trump had triumphed by double digits in the 2024 general election. With Democrats winning the House with their largest majority since 2008 and flipping seven seats in the Senate – at press time it was 228 to 139 in the House and 54 to 44 in the Senate with Alaska and Mississippi still too close to call – the expected blue wave was indeed a tsunami, triggering several electoral earthquakes and political firsts. Among them, Hakeem Jeffries will be the first Black Speaker of the House; Dr. Abdul El-Sayed will be the first Muslim senator; Deb Haaland, of New Mexico, became the first Native American woman to win governor; Keisha Lance Bottoms will be the first Black woman to be elected as a governor in the United States, as well as the first Black person to become Governor of Georgia; and New Hampshire’s Chris Pappas became the first openly gay man elected to the Senate, thanking his husband in his victory speech. The closely watched Texas races, where Trump frenemy Elon Musk had poured $300 million against the victorious Senate candidate James Talarico – the first Democrat to win in 32 years – went blue across the board in all 17 of their state races, with Gina Hinojosa making history as the first Latina Texas Governor. And reliably Republican Hispanic Americans were a deciding bloc in many of these Democrat Party wins due to the Trump administration’s brutal immigration crackdown through ICE. Exit polls showed that voters across the board were also concerned with affordability, which in his 30 campaign stops Trump continued to dismiss as a hoax. Meanwhile, he continued the tariffs on Canadian goods, the war in Iran – which Trump has doubled down on despite the high fuel prices it has led to – and the clear instances of self-dealing by him, his three eldest children, his son-in-law, and several top officials and advisors. In fact, Trump put himself on the ballot, making the mid-term a referendum on him – and this rebuke shows the public’s desire for a return to civility and decency. Trump enablers, like Susan Collins of Maine, were punished – she lost the Senate seat she’d held since 1997. Both the now-lame-duck Donald and his Vice President J.D. Vance had supported Ohio Governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign ad against opponent Amy Acton, which featured her estranged mother – who stayed with the husband who sexually assaulted the then-12 year Acton – attacking her daughter as a liar. Acton won by eight points, becoming the first female governor of Ohio. As Senate candidate Adam Hamilton said in his victory speech, after turning Kansas blue for the first time since 1932, “I got elected because we’re tired of the bullies, we’re tired of the chaos.” | Getty Images; Unsplash
NOVEMBER 3, 2026
Trust Issues
Following discussions over the weekend, both Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump seem to have found some common ground, with both leaders indicating that a Canada-U.S. trade deal is in the works. Carney – who’s been at odds with the U.S. leader since taking office – said the talks built on “recent constructive discussions on the outlines of a mutually beneficial trade deal.” While Trump continued his victimhood rhetoric – claiming the U.S. had been losing money to Canada for 70 to 75 years – he also described the discussion as constructive. “We have the concept of a deal that’s going to be great for our farmers, great for our country, and it’ll be fine for Canada too.” Meanwhile, any sweet talk from the typically belligerent U.S. leader should be taken with a generous heap of salt. The sudden change of heart could very well be Trump’s last-ditch effort to win back voters as they head to the polls for the midterms today. Carney walked away from a trade deal with the U.S. in August after the Trump administration added a slate of “uneconomic” and “unfair” demands. With that undiplomatic bait-and-switch fresh in his mind, he remains cautiously optimistic. When asked on Monday how he knows the president will ink a deal when the time comes, he didn’t mince words: “I don’t know that.” | Getty Images
