Washington DC - Donald Trump emerged battered by an election night that was disastrous for his party, after failing to deliver on the promise that secured his second White House term: lowering the cost of living for Americans.

Tuesday's vote was "not expected to be a victory," Trump told Republican senators a day after elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York handily won by the Democratic opposition.

"I don't think it was good for Republicans," he added.

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Steve Bannon, one of the leading architects of Trump's Make America Great Again movement, had foreshadowed the Democratic wave: "The warning signs are flashing."

"It was a very, very bad night for Donald Trump," said Robert Rowland, a professor of communication at the University of Kansas.

Democratic wins on Tuesday night shared "a common theme: the cost of living," said Thomas Kahn, a professor of political science at American University in Washington.

Billionaire Trump (79) proclaimed Wednesday that the US has "the hottest economy we've ever had."

But that sentiment clashes with "the reality that people experience when they go to the grocery store," Rowland said.

Polls show Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with the cost of living, along with rising concern over the impact of Trump's global tariff war.

Instead of hammering home messages about rising costs and kitchen-table issues, Trump's gone "completely off script," Kahn said.

Recent gold-and-marble renovations at the White House and an opulent Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago estate show a US leader out of touch with ordinary citizens, he said.

"The American people are suffering... facing these high prices and struggling, they watch Donald Trump live the life of a baron," Kahn said.

Trump blamed Tuesday's Democratic sweep on the federal government shutdown – now the longest ever, at 36 days – over a budget standoff in Congress.

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It has led to hits on social welfare programs, unpaid leave for hundreds of thousands of civil servants, and pared back public services.

Far from signaling a willingness to compromise, Trump slammed "kamikaze" Democratic lawmakers and urged Republicans to force through a budget bill.

This would mean abandoning a key 60-vote threshold required for the Senate to advance legislation, a longstanding check on power that forces lawmakers to find bipartisan solutions.

Republicans hold only a simple majority in the chamber, but senators are reluctant to scrap the so-called filibuster.

Without it, Trump and his party would be able to pass reforms, including a voter ID law that would favor Republicans ahead of next year's midterm elections, in which one-third of Senate seats and the entire House of Representatives will be contested.

Republican candidates are wary, after seeing voters who supported Trump in 2024 turn to Democratic candidates on Tuesday.

Conservatives "have really tied themselves to Trump, but Trump is now underwater," said Wendy Schiller, a political scientist at Brown University.

Republicans now face the problem of "how do they uncouple from Trump," she said. "What these elections showed is that they're on the wrong side of these issues, according to a lot of voters."

However, Republican candidates are reluctant to directly oppose Trump for fear of being sidelined by more radical candidates, Rowland said.

Trump's comeback abilities are also unparalleled, considering his White House re-election after a criminal conviction and the deadly January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters.

"Anybody in the past who's ever counted out Donald Trump loses the bet," Kahn said.

His return to power wasn't solely due to the unwavering support of his base, but because he was able to attract undecided voters concerned about making ends meet.

"He can survive anything except bad economic news," Rowland said.