Trump is set to redefine the lame duck presidency

5 Nov 2026 11:56 AM

EXPERT COMMENT

Conventional wisdom says the Democrats in Congress will now constrain the president. Nobody told President Trump.

Although Donald Trump’s name was not on any ballot this week, American voters viewed the 2026 midterm election cycle as a referendum on his presidency. With the votes counted the message Americans delivered to the president is clear: they do not approve. They don’t approve of the cost of petrol at the pump, they don’t approve of the state of the US economy, and they don’t approve of the war with Iran.

Having lost control of both congressional houses, conventional wisdom would dictate that the executive branch should be hampered for the remainder of Trump’s second term. But the president has never operated by the rules of conventional wisdom. 

We should not expect Trump to recede into the background. And this is not (yet) the end of the Trump era. Like so many facets of American politics over the past decade, Trump is set to redefine the lame duck presidency. With midterm elections behind him, the president can now (re)turn to what he cares about most: his legacy. 

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.