US President explains why Republicans lost elections: 'Donald Trump wasn’t on ballot'

US President Donald Trump

Explaining the reasons that drove Republican losses in Virginia, New Jersey and New York elections, US President Donald Trump said it was due to his absence from the ballot and the government shutdown.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump cited pollsters as the source of the assessment and wrote, “Trump wasn’t on the ballot, and shutdown were the two reasons that republicans lost elections tonight."

Trump’s post comes after multiple Republican candidates, including Curtis Sliwa, were defeated in the mayoral and governer elections across the United States. The President has often claimed that GOP candidates fare better when he is directly involved in campaigns.

Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old Indian-origin democratic socialist lawmaker, pulled off a stunning victory in the fiercely contested New York city mayoral elections, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

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— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 5, 2025

n Virginia and New Jersey, Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill won the elections for governor with commanding leads, respectively.

In a cryptic post soon after the US polls closed, the White House reiterated that "Trump is your President."

"Virginia and New Jersey, VOTE REPUBLICAN IF YOU WANT MASSIVE ENERGY COST AND CRIME REDUCTIONS. The Democrats will double and even triple your Energy Costs, and CRIME will be rampant. A vote for the Democrats is a DEATH WISH! VOTE REPUBLICAN," Trump earlier posted on Truth Social.