An author of several books on American history, Rhode Island native Ted Widmer is well-positioned to reflect on the implications of the 2026 midterm elections. Widmer’s perspective is enhanced by his political career, which included a tenure as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton.
Widmer sat down with Ocean State Media political reporter Ian Donnis to reflect on the midterms, President Trump's legacy and the future of American politics.
Interview highlights
On the implications of the midterm election results
Ted Widmer: I was surprised (President Trump) roared back in 2024. I thought he was done on January 6, 2021, and he should have been done on that day. So his resiliency surprised me, and it derived from genuine political skill on his part and deep passion for his followers. But I think he's toast now. I don't think he will get much done in the next two years. I don't think he will go quietly either. He was briefly quiet on the night of the results and said he wouldn't challenge the results, which I was surprised at. He's shown a lot more combativeness since then. I think we're going to have two years of mixed government, two sides that don't like each other at all, probably not a lot happening. And I think it'll lead to a Democrat winning in two years.
I do not think Democrats can work constructively with President Trump or (White House Chief of Staff) Stephen Miller. I think Stephen Miller was chosen precisely to block Democratic progress. What Democrats should do is a complicated question at the moment. Many want a kind of revenge and to impeach Donald Trump. I don't go that far. I don't think the impeachment measures – the two last times – worked out very well. We obviously didn't have the votes. There are interesting other kinds of measures like censure. Censure, I find compelling. It's a vote that expresses a deep sense of disappointment or worse, that we have a morally bad actor in a position of power. I think it would be appropriate to censure Donald Trump, but it wouldn't remove him from office. I think overwhelmingly the Democrats should get to work on the issues that elected them: lowering the cost of living, expanding healthcare, reigning in AI and data centers; the kind of basic things people really care about right now.
On voters’ concerns about affordability
Widmer: I think there are some short-term actions a Congress can take. Raising the minimum wage would be a pretty good way to start; expanding healthcare; fixing those subsidies that were removed. But at the very least, voters want a fighting Congress. And even if Democrats are fighting and being blocked by Trump's vetoes, they'll see people fighting on behalf of these issues. I think that'll do a lot. I think two years of that will show the people that the Republicans are just opposed to change. They're the party captured by billionaires and data centers. This wave, I don't think, is going to recede. I think it's just going to get stronger.
On Democrats’ role in the election of Donald Trump
Widmer: I think there's a feeling, six years later, that there was some overreach in 2020. It was a very confusing year with COVID. The defund the police movement on the progressive side of the Democratic Party, I think many people feel that took that issue a little too far. We need police; we need protection from crime, obviously. I like the center of the Democratic Party. I'm really happy that we're getting back to a sane center, and I hope we can keep that for two years.
On the legacy of the Trump presidency
Widmer: I think historians, and I am one, are going to look back at this as a terrible time, an embarrassing time, a time in which we Americans walked away from our own high standards, the way we have carried ourselves in the world as a moral leader of other nations, the leader of NATO, the leader of the West, the defender of democracy around the world. Of course, we have been imperfect. We did not do a good job defending democracy in Vietnam or in Iraq, but we aren't even close to being a defender of democracy right now. There's not a shred of interest from this president in democracy, either at home or abroad. We're barely doing anything to help Ukraine. The war in Iran is not about democracy at all. All of these wars seem to be about fossil fuels and about his family's personal profits.
On restoring trust in American democracy
Widmer: I think if the Democrats are seen as fighting for the causes that they were elected on, that will restore some trust in them. I think also they need to reach across the aisle, and I think Democrats will find far more reasonable Republicans now than we've found in the last two years, because the takeaway from this election is Donald Trump is a loser, and local Republicans will want to win. They're going to want to stay in office. And the way they can win is if they work on the issues people care about.
