Donald Trump faces a potentially damaging electoral defeat as Americans prepare to vote in midterm elections, with economic dissatisfaction, allegations of corruption and growing opposition to his foreign policy threatening Republican control of Congress. Democrats are expected to win the House of Representatives and could also capture the Senate, while five state legislatures important to the next presidential election are among their targets.
The political pressure comes as a 52-page report published last Monday by Democrats on the House judiciary committee alleged mounting evidence that Trump was an “active participant” in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women during the mid-to-late 1990s. The report included accounts from six women alleging rape, sexual assault or attempted sexual assault by Trump. The allegations have not been established as fact. Their limited prominence in the news, despite their potential political significance, reflects the extent to which controversy surrounding the president has become familiar to American voters.
The Observer UK reported that Trump’s political vulnerability stems principally from two broken promises: that he would be a president of peace and that he would bring down inflation. Instead, his administration has launched a war against Iran and contributed to rising costs through tariffs and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Democrats are preparing to investigate the administration’s decision to go to war without congressional approval, its immigration enforcement operations and the financial activities of the Trump family.
The economic consequences are already affecting households. Data from the Pew Research Center cited in the report show that 60% of Americans do not have sufficient income to lead the kind of life they want. Seventy per cent say they have reduced spending on eating out and entertainment, while more than half report being unable to save for the future. Three recent polls found voters more angry about government corruption than the cost of living, placing the president’s personal financial interests alongside inflation as an electoral concern.
Investigations by Reuters and other organisations have found that income from the Trump Organization increased 17-fold, from $51m in 2024 to $864m in 2025. Brokerage accounts managed by Trump family members and their appointees recorded more than 3,700 trades during the first quarter of the year, including purchases that appeared to have been based on inside information. One account bought $500,000 in Nvidia shares a week before the company received clearance to sell its H200 artificial intelligence chip to China. Another invested in a specialised drone manufacturer shortly before it secured a Pentagon contract.
World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company majority-owned by Trump family members and associates, sold endorsements to other cryptocurrency ventures and platforms for tens of millions of dollars. Its own value also rose sharply after Trump’s re-election. The family has reportedly accumulated more than $4bn since his second inauguration, benefiting from his position in the White House.
In May, acting attorney general Todd Blanche, previously Trump’s personal lawyer in the hush-money case involving adult-film star Stormy Daniels, granted Trump, his family and businesses full immunity for life from financial audits and investigations, according to the report.
Presidential historian Mark Updegrove, chief executive of the Texas-based LBJ Foundation, said Trump’s conduct was driven by personal ambition rather than constitutional responsibilities.
“Trump does not care about the constitution and doesn’t seem to know anything about it either,” Updegrove said. “He is motivated by three things: ego, money and revenge, so his presidency has been about self-aggrandisement, greed and vindictiveness.”
Trump has also used the presidency to pursue projects that have attracted criticism over their costs and financing. He secured more than $30m for his presidential library from two major US television networks following disputes involving stories that had angered him. His administration has also pursued a $400m White House ballroom financed through private donations, creating concerns about the relationship between financial contributions and access to presidential power.
Trump placed his name on Washington’s Kennedy Center alongside that of John Kennedy, before a judge ordered its removal. The ballroom has become a particular focus of his attention. At a rally in Mississippi last Monday, he spent about seven minutes discussing the project while making no comparable remarks about the cost of living or the Epstein report.
His foreign policy has also damaged confidence in American leadership. Trump has threatened Greenland, joked about annexing Canada, captured Venezuela’s president and attacked Iran without consulting Nato allies. He has also attempted to blame Ukraine for the invasion by Russia.
“Foreign powers are looking at a rogue president who the American people have elected into office, not once but twice, and the second time was after January 6,” Updegrove said, referring to the 2021 attack on the US Capitol. “We knew exactly what we were getting into and we did it anyway.”
Fewer than a quarter of adults surveyed by the Pew Research Center in 36 countries now express confidence in US leadership under Trump. Updegrove estimated that restoring the country’s international standing could take at least a generation.
Trump has also faced resistance within his own party. Former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell described the president’s claim that Russia had been “fine with Ukraine” as “factually wrong, strategically naive and morally bankrupt”. Four Republican senators voted with Democrats to criticise Trump for failing to consult Congress over Iran, while two said he was unwelcome in their states during the campaign.
The Supreme Court has ruled most of Trump’s tariffs illegal, and more than 180 lower-court rulings have challenged executive orders issued by his administration. There are also indications that Fox News is giving him less airtime.
Democrats hold an average two-percentage-point polling advantage, representing a seven-point swing away from Trump since 2024. However, a study of US polls across the previous four election cycles found that three-quarters overstated Democratic prospects. Republicans are also outspending opponents in some states by 10 to one, supported largely by more than $445m in donations from Elon Musk.
Musk, who dismantled the US Agency for International Development, is approaching trillionaire status again as Trump promotes unregulated artificial intelligence. SpaceX, Musk’s company, has been valued at more than $2tn ahead of its initial public offering.
Nearly nine in 10 Americans surveyed by CNN said they were more concerned than excited about the pace of artificial intelligence development. The midterms will test whether that concern, alongside economic dissatisfaction and allegations of presidential misconduct, translates into electoral consequences for Republicans.
