Trump questions midterm results and blames voting machines

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he does not believe the recent U.S. midterm elections were conducted honestly and questioned why opinion polls were so inaccurate. In an interview with The New York Times, he suggested that his absence from the ballot prevented the enthusiasm generated at his rallies from being transferred to Republican candidates, which he said hurt voter turnout. He also criticized the congressional candidates for not campaigning under his leadership and accused Fox News of giving Democratic analysts prominent airtime, describing the pollsters on the network as "terrible." Trump added that the Iran war and high gas prices were additional factors behind the Republican losses. In a Truth Social post, he claimed that some batches of early votes were so large that a Republican victory was impossible regardless of turnout and asserted that voting machines had a greater impact on the outcome than voters, stating, "It's all about the machines, which are far more important than the voter!" The remarks echo previous unsubstantiated claims he made after the 2020 presidential election, which led to numerous unsuccessful lawsuits and culminated in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.