Donald Trump is not impressed to be called ‘a loser’ by British reporter after US President suffered midterm hammering

Donald Trump was asked what it feels like ‘to be a loser’ after his party was hammered in the midterms this week.

The US President didn’t seem impressed by the question, asked by a British reporter on Friday.

Trump, who was sheltering from the rain under an umbrella, simply walked off and did not respond, after previously speaking to reporters as he departed the White House for Florida.

It came after a political hammering as voters in the US took to the polls on Tuesday to vote on seats in the Senate and House. 

His party lost seats across the board, with shock wins for the Democrats in previously safe Republican states including Texas.

The Democrats now hold a majority in both chambers, with Republicans beginning a blame game and Trump ditching Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, replacing her with Stephen Miller.

Voters roundly rejected the President’s policies, with the war in Iran, tariffs, the rising cost of living and data centres all contributing, pundits said.

‘How does it feel being a loser, Mr President?’ the journalist shouted out, but the President did not acknowledge the question and walked away. 

And in Britain, political figures previously full of praise for Trump are already turning their backs on him.

Kemi Badenoch has described the results as ‘entirely self-inflicted’, telling Independent editor-in-chief Geordie Greig on The Talk Show: ‘Voters want results’.

She pointed to foreign policy and the President’s tariffs as key aspects of voters’ dissatisfaction, as well as threats to allies including Canada and Greenland. 

She also described Trump’s treatment of President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House in 2025, when he gave the Ukrainian leader a dressing down in front of the world’s media, as ‘awful’, and said she did not like how he was ‘rude about [Sir] Keir Starmer’.

The Conservative leader added that she would have been content if Democratic nominee Kamala Harris had won in 2024, quipping: ‘I like them both equally. Make of that what you will.’

When asked if Trump deserved to be thrashed in the vote, she said: ‘Well, yeah. He has not been acting in the way that I would consider conservative.

‘Where is the push for free markets and better trade and more enforcement of trade rules, rather than protectionism, America first, the squabbling with allies? That’s not what conservatives do.’

She added: ‘We need to separate President Trump from the United States. The special relationship is with the country.

‘When he was rude about Keir Starmer… I didn’t like that at all,’ she added. ‘What they did to President Zelensky in the White House was awful.’

In the aftermath of the results, Vice President JD Vance blamed the war in Iran in a marked shift away from his previous loyalty. 

He shared a lengthy X post regarding the conflict, listing all the other reasons the party lost and appealing to Republican voters to give the party another chance in the future of the MAGA movement.

‘The reason we lost is the war. The President himself said so last night,’ he said.

‘If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so,’ he said.

‘Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest.’

And as the fallout continues, Trump announced last night that long-running Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was out, and will be replaced by Stephen Miller, the current deputy. 

Pressed on the shake-up Friday afternoon, Trump told reporters: ‘I wanted to make a change. I think Susie’s done a very good job, great job, but… we gotta make moves. Sometimes in life, you have to make moves.’

His account cuts against that of a senior White House official, who told the Daily Mail that Ms Wiles ‘gave her resignation last night’.

While Trump says publicly that he needed to make a change, the official says that the departure was Ms Wiles’ decision.

Reports suggest that Trump dramatically turned on Ms Wiles in the Oval Office, and she walked out with him still shouting at her. 

Trump had turned on his Chief of Staff in a meeting with other aides and berated her over the brutal outcome of the elections, sources familiar with the argument told the Daily Mail.

She is said to have asked to stay until February, which Trump refused, before tendering her resignation. 

A White House official denied that Trump raised his voice at Ms Wiles: ‘He would never yell at Susie.’ 

It remains to be seen whether Ms Wiles will be the only head to roll.