US President Donald Trump has questioned the legitimacy of the midterm election results after his Republican Party suffered sweeping defeats, reviving unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud and voting-machine manipulation.

In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump questioned whether the election had been conducted honestly, writing: “Does anybody really believe that this ‘Election’ was honest?”

He also revived conspiracy theories about voting machines, claiming that early vote counts had been manipulated to make a Republican victory impossible.

“How could the Polls be so wrong??? Some early voting ‘dumps’ were so large that it was impossible to win, no matter how many people went to vote,” Trump wrote, adding: “It’s all about the machines, which are far more important than the voter!”

The remarks followed major Democratic gains in Tuesday’s midterm elections, with the party taking control of both chambers of Congress in a major setback for Trump and the Republicans.

The scale of the Democratic gains was underscored by victories in traditionally Republican strongholds, including Texas and South Carolina, where several races produced results few analysts would have predicted a year earlier.

The election results reflected widespread public anger over soaring living costs, controversial tariffs and Trump’s war against Iran, which has driven fuel prices higher and further deepened dissatisfaction with an already deeply unpopular president.

Trump ‘slapped’ by US voters, ‘real winner’ was Iran: Leader’s advisor

Mohammad Mokhber says Donald Trump “did everything possible” to secure victory for his Republican Party but was “slapped by his own people” in the midterm elections.

US Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that the war against Iran was a major factor in the Republican Party’s midterm defeat, saying it cost the party control of the Senate.

“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance wrote in a post on X on Wednesday.

The United States and Israel launched a fresh round of aggression against Iran on February 28, nearly eight months after their previous unprovoked attacks on the country.

Iran swiftly retaliated with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting the Israeli-occupied territories, as well as US military bases and interests across the region.

Tehran also moved to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to the renewed US-Israeli aggression, preventing US and allied vessels from passing through the strategic waterway.

The closure sent shockwaves through global energy markets, driving up oil and fuel prices, particularly in the United States. Washington and the International Energy Agency (IEA) were forced to release strategic oil reserves on several occasions in an effort to ease supply shortages and contain price increases.