The world is reacting to the Democrats' sweeping midterm elections victory

Updated November 5, 2026 at 1:32 AM ChST

One color dominates international headlines about the U.S. midterm election results. French newspaper Libération called the Democrats' win "une vague bleue," or blue wave, Britain's Daily Mail dubbed it a "historic blue tsunami," and The Times of India's headline ran "midterm blues for Trump."

Countries at war were also watching closely, with Ukrainian newspaper The Kyiv Independent's online headline hopeful: "Democrats seize control of Congress in blow to Trump, potential boost for Ukraine."

Russia had a different take. Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the state-run daily newspaper, suggested the results would in fact be a blow to Ukraine, which has firm support from the European Union. "Brussels, brace yourself. After the Republicans' defeat, Trump's wrath will fall on Europe," read the headline.

Iran's Tehran Times said "Call it Operation Midterms Hammer" — a play on the U.S. military's Operation Midnight Hammer strikes against Iran in June 2025. Since the United States and Israel renewed their war against Iran this February, the fallout has pushed up the price of oil and other goods, becoming a major election campaign issue. The article ran a cartoon of a man slamming a mini-Trump with a hammer in a game of whack-a-mole.

In Israel, which just held its own parliamentary elections last week, headlines focused on what the Democrats' victory means for the U.S. support of the Jewish state and its war in Gaza.

The Times of Israel ran a headline focusing on Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's triumph in the U.S. Senate race in Michigan, saying "Anti-Israel El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate race, pledges no money for 'apartheid, genocide.'" A headline in Israel's Haaretz read: "Abdul El-Sayed Shows Opposition to Israel Is No Barrier to Winning Battleground States."

Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP

Newspapers in U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico, meanwhile, noted the results were a rebuke and setback for Trump.

Some foreign politicians celebrate, others keep silent

International leaders tend to shy away from commenting directly on the results of U.S. midterm elections, as opposed to presidential races when they routinely congratulate the winner. However, this time several have made public statements.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that with Trump accepting the midterms results, the focus can turn to ending wars and bringing down prices.

"The world has an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all, and that's the cost of living," Burnham told reporters Wednesday. "I can't get people's cost of living pressures down until the conflict in the Middle East is resolved, the conflict in Ukraine started by Russia, these are the things we have to focus on now."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has an acrimonious relationship with Trump, was forthright in his response.

"Yesterday, American society voted against policies that only impoverish. Against hate. Against machismo. Against climate denialism and against the privileges of the elites," Sánchez wrote on social media.

In South Africa, where diplomatic relations with the U.S. are at an all-time low after Trump falsely accused the government of persecuting its white minority, President Cyril Ramaphosa said "The people of America have spoken."

Ramaphosa made the comments as he cast his own ballot in South Africa's municipal elections Wednesday, adding: "I do think that this is going to introduce a new era in world relations. … We're hoping that on a bilateral basis there will be a coming together of minds."

A senior Russia diplomat suggested the Democratic Party's return to power in both houses of Congress bode ill for U.S.-Russian relations. "The approach of the activist wing of the Democratic Party towards Russia is extremely negative. There's nothing new in that," said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in an interview with the state RIA-Novosti news service. Ryabkov also signaled there would be no grand shifts in Russian foreign policy as a result.

In Germany, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius congratulated Democrats on an "historic victory," adding that Berlin's commitment to cooperating with the administration in Washington remains unchanged. He stressed that Berlin will be reaching out to both Democrats and Republicans.

Vahid Salemi / AP

Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said the results are a "powerful political signal about a change of course among American voters." Speaking to Reuters, Stoere said "voices are now emerging in American politics that are closer to us than the president and the administration have stood for, for example on climate and environment, and in foreign policy and development aid policy."

A spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry told a daily press conference that the midterm elections "are an internal affair of the United States." She added that "China is willing to continue working with the U.S. to … strengthen communication, properly manage differences, expand cooperation, and build a constructive, strategically stable China-U.S. relationship based on the principles of respect, fairness, and reciprocity."

Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, told a news conference that Japan's alliance with the U.S. remains essential for global peace and stability, regardless of the outcome of midterm elections.

The alliance "remains the cornerstone of Japan's foreign and security policy" and is crucial to "maximizing its national interests" amid an increasingly volatile and uncertain global situation," he added.

Middle East reacts

Iran's Parliament Speaker and top negotiator Mohammad ‌Baqer Ghalibaf commented on X: "Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message. If the US govt betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare."

For Israel, the U.S. midterm results fall during a time of political uncertainty, amid coalition-building talks after Trump's ally, incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, lost his parliamentary majority in Oct. 27 Israeli elections. "In some ways Netanyahu lost two elections in the last week," said Israel-American analyst Mairav Zonstein.

Netanyahu's rivals seized on the midterm results. One Israeli opposition leader, Yair Golan, said the U.S. results reveal "just how toxic Netanyahu is among both Democrats and Republicans." Another, Yair Lapid, said the U.S. results "eliminate any possibility of a unity government led by Netanyahu."

Additional reporting by Charles Maynes in Moscow, Esme Nicholson in Berlin, Lauren Frayer in Tel Aviv, Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Istanbul, Anthony Kuhn in Seoul.

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