The seismic tremors of the November 3, 2026 midterm elections vibrate across global power halls. This historic political rupture has shattered the false vainglory of Donald Trump’s MAGA personality cult and delivered a brutal repudiation of his imperial hubris.
For two years, the world watched the consolidation of a self-styled “god-king” under Donald Trump’s autocratic presidency. Central to his rule – and his chokehold over American politics – was years of hero-worshipping, driven primarily by a white working-class base trapped within a framework of aggressive religious nationalism.
CRONYISM AND TRUMP’S CORRUPT RULE
Under Trump’s regime, blind personal allegiance repeatedly trumped constitutional accountability. Yet, while Trump, his family, and his inner circle of cronies – led by tech oligarchs like Elon Musk – profited immensely, the American working class was systematically pushed toward economic ruin.
Recall President Trump’s January 2025 inauguration. On the dawning of his second term, he stood proudly flanked by the titans of digital capital: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, Shou Zi Chew, and Satya Nadella.
This was a stark acknowledgement of crony capitalism. The billionaire class that bankrolled Trump’s ascension to power smiled broadly at the prospect of compounding their immense wealth under his despotic rule.
Over the next two years, the wealth of the top 0.1 per cent – millionaires and billionaires possessing assets over $64 million – rose at a rate over 8,000 times that of bottom income earners, as documented by the Center for American Progress. In that same span, Donald Trump’s personal net worth jumped by over $3 billion.
Corruption quickly emerged as a central catalyst for a mass voter revolt. Furthermore, the aggressive proliferation of AI data centres owned by billionaire tech moguls dramatically spiked electricity costs and water usage, with the financial burden unfairly passed on to ordinary consumers. On November 3, voters responded by delivering 38 distinct victories for data-centre restrictions across state and local districts.
DEVASTATING SOCIAL COSTS AND HUMAN TOLL
Trump delivered massive tax handouts to America’s ruling class under his signature legislative packages, paid for by slashing critical health and social benefits for the poorest communities across the nation.
According to a Congressional Joint Economic Committee report, American families spent between $3,800 and $4,700 more on essential goods and services under Trump’s inflationary policies through mid-2026. Monthly household budgets ballooned by roughly $275 per month for an average family of four.
The human toll was devastating, over four million working-class Americans lost vital food assistance. Meanwhile, eight million citizens lost their health coverage, with an additional seven million scheduled to lose coverage by the end of 2026.
Compounding this domestic assault, the administration’s reckless decision to wage war against Iran completely alienated the anti-interventionist “America First” base that had originally opposed expensive foreign conflicts.
By mid-October 2026, the Pentagon estimated this military venture had drained over US$47 billion – precious capital stripped away from domestic infrastructure, healthcare systems, and veterans’ care while ordinary working households struggled to survive.
THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS WAS A MASS REBELLION
Dear friends, when the smoke cleared from this popular electoral uprising, the absolute dominance of the Republican Party lay in ruins. The Democratic Party captured full legislative control of both chambers of Congress, securing 54 seats in the Senate – including independent allies – and 255 seats in the House of Representatives in final ballot tallies.
This is no routine seat shift; it is a profound qualitative realignment of race, class, and political power inside the American empire. This election turned directly on the material realities of ordinary working-class people who flatly refused to pay soaring grocery bills with empty campaign slogans or hollow cultural nationalism.
Buffeted by relentless inflation, unaffordable housing, sky-high fuel costs, and economic insecurity, the working class demonstrated that electoral loyalties are never permanent. Significant segments of the white working class that overwhelmingly carried Trump to victory in 2024 deliberately broke ranks to punish an administration that failed to protect their basic livelihoods.
Crucially, the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement engine acted as a catalyst for widespread social rebellion. Additionally, US Census Bureau data show some 12.5 million Latinos – roughly 20 per cent of that demographic – self-identified as “white only”. Yet they painfully discovered that Trump’s brutal deportation machine made no such nuanced racial distinctions.
As countless immigrant families were traumatised by physical abuse, unlawful detentions, denial of basic due process, and pervasive state terror, this systemic oppression ultimately united poor Latinos, younger voters, suburban women, and independents – driving a historic 62 per cent of the total Latino electorate into the Democratic column.
absolute power, a fragile illusion
Rising political and class consciousness sparked an explosion in black and minority political representation across America. Boosted by progressive demands for universal healthcare, robust labour protections, affordable housing, and a rollback of corporate dominance, this diverse coalition proved that xenophobic rhetoric can never substitute for economic survival.
As the United States enters a volatile period of institutional confrontation, congressional investigations, and fierce partisan warfare, the Pan-African and anti-imperialist movement must remain vigilant.
We must avoid treating a Democratic victory as a political solution. The Democratic Party establishment has historically supported core structures of American global military dominance, empire expansion, and corporate-backed interventions.
The incoming congressional majority must be judged strictly by its actions: they must be forced to use their mandate to restore constitutional accountability, dismantle the military-industrial complex, and implement genuine economic justice.
My dear friends, as the dust settles on the petrifying corpse of the MAGA movement, its failed leader watches in fear, knowing that congressional accountability is coming. The American Constitution, under its Emoluments Clause, explicitly forbids the shameless corruption that allowed Trump and his cronies to amass such staggering wealth at the public’s expense.
Now, Donald Trump’s imperial presidency is effectively neutered by a mass rebellion against warmongering, economic violence, blatant corruption, immigration excesses, and general abuse of power.
The lesson of November 3 is absolute: no matter the scale of an empire’s military or financial might, absolute power is a fragile illusion. The collective sovereignty of an awakened working class can never be permanently subdued.
Norris R. McDonald is an author, economic journalist, political analyst, and respiratory therapist. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com or miaminorris@yahoo.com.
