Former US Diplomat Kent: Election Result Shows Americans Angry at Trump's Policies

In the US midterm elections held last week, the Democratic Party won majorities in both chambers of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The outcome was assessed in an interview with the Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda by George Kent, a former US diplomat with more than thirty years of experience who served as US ambassador to Estonia under President Joe Biden. Kent says the result is a direct consequence of Donald Trump's policies, including the war with Iran.

Who Kent is

Kent has worked under five US presidents and served as a special assistant at the State Department and as senior anti-corruption coordinator in its European bureau. From 2015 to 2018 he was deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Kyiv. Trump dismissed him in January 2025, and he is now retired.

His explanation of the result

Kent agrees with the claim that this is the largest win by one party in the national popular vote since at least 1976. He says more than 124 million Americans voted and the national gap exceeded 13 percentage points. Democrats also won in places where they had not won for decades; in Kansas, it was the first time since 1932.

According to Kent, farmers were angered by Trump's tariffs, which closed Chinese markets to American soybeans and sorghum, and by diesel price increases linked to the war. He also cites corruption and the cost of living as the top issues in polls, and says part of the MAGA movement's supporters stayed home. In his view, Trump's 2024 coalition of young voters, Latinos and the white working class has fallen apart: about 65% of young voters and around 70% of Latino voters backed Democrats this time.

What comes next

Kent sees no sign that Trump will cooperate constructively with a Democratic majority in Congress over the next two years, and expects possible vetoes and many investigations. He also considers the Republicans' chances in the 2028 presidential election to be extremely low.