Fox News host Jesse Watters delivered a blunt post-mortem of the Republican Party's midterm losses on Wednesday, arguing that the coalition that carried President Trump to victory has "totally collapsed." Speaking on "The Five," Watters pointed to the party's failure to connect with younger voters and minorities as a central cause of the defeat.
"If you're going to make people who are young, struggling, living paycheck to paycheck, have to pay more for stuff and make it harder for them to climb the ladder, it's not going to go well," Watters said, summarizing the economic frustrations that he believes drove voters away from the GOP.
Watters specifically called out Trump's appeal, noting that his support was concentrated among older Americans. "The only people he really won are people over 65, and those are people who have a home, invested in the stock market, and can kind of see the big picture, but the coalition's totally collapsed," he said. He added, "I mean, we lost whites, whites. You can't do that, if you're a Republican. Men, Hispanics, big time, and so it's going to take a while to put the coalition back together because it was in the heartland."
The comments come after a bruising Election Day for Republicans, who lost control of both the House and Senate. According to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), Democrats are projected to expand their House caucus from 214 to 262 seats, while their Senate caucus is expected to grow from 47 to 55 members. The losses have sparked internal GOP finger-pointing and debates over the party's direction, a dynamic that Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has also acknowledged, attributing the rout to a breakdown in coalition politics.
Republicans entered the cycle facing significant headwinds, including persistent concerns about the cost of living, Trump's sagging approval ratings, and the unpopular war in Iran. A DDHQ polling average taken the day before the midterms showed Trump's approval at just 38.4 percent, with disapproval at 58.7 percent. Those numbers underscored the difficulty Republicans faced in defending their record.
The election results also delivered a clear message on specific policy fights. Voters appeared to reject the GOP's push for deregulation in the tech sector, a stance that resonated poorly with younger, more tech-savvy voters. Meanwhile, the No Kings Coalition, a grassroots group, successfully mobilized early voting efforts that contributed to the Democratic surge.
Looking ahead, Trump's agenda for the next two years will face formidable opposition from the incoming Democratic Congress. The shift in power in Washington is expected to fundamentally alter the relationship between the legislative and executive branches, with Democrats poised to launch investigations and block many of the president's priorities. As Watters noted, rebuilding the GOP's coalition will be a long and difficult process, one that will require the party to reassess its appeal beyond its traditional base.
