US President Donald Trump takes off his hat for a moment, as he leaves after he delivered remarks ahead of the midterm elections at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, after being reopened following months of repairs, in Washington, DC, US, November 2, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
CNN political director David Chalian detected a surprisingly defeatist tone from Donald Trump on Monday as the president delivered an unusual closing argument on the eve of the midterm elections that the top analyst repeatedly described as "bizarre."
Speaking with CNN anchors Boris Sanchez and Brianna Keilar, Chalian suggested Trump sounded almost resigned to the possibility of Republican losses despite spending weeks campaigning for his party.
“There was a piece of him that sounded almost a little bit dejected,” Chalian said Monday.
He pointed to Trump’s acknowledgment that the president’s party historically struggles in midterm elections.
“That fatalistic approach and his sort of fatalistic tone today was just not how you would advise anyone, a leader of a party, a president, to close out the day before an election,” Chalian said.
The CNN Washington bureau chief went on to note that CNN polling throughout the year had found nearly three-quarters of Americans believed Trump was focused on the wrong priorities.
“And this was like A through Z of that,” he added.
Chalian still credited Trump with managing an aggressive campaign schedule, noting that the 80-year-old president had held 28 rallies.
“He has leaned in and put his muscle into this,” Chalian said Monday.
But he questioned whether Trump’s efforts would ultimately help Republicans overcome his low ratings.
"I just don't know that when you're at historic unpopularity, if that is going to prove to be the right thing to do in the midterm season,” Chalian said.