Updated November 4, 2026 at 2:44 PM CST
One color dominates international headlines about the U.S. midterm election results. French newspaper Libération called the Democrats' win "une vague bleue," or blue wave, Britain's Daily Mail dubbed it a "historic blue tsunami," and The Times of India's headline ran "midterm blues for Trump."
Countries at war were also watching closely, with Ukrainian newspaper The Kyiv Independent's online headline hopeful: "Democrats seize control of Congress in blow to Trump, potential boost for Ukraine."
Russia had a different take. Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the state-run daily newspaper, suggested the results would in fact be a blow to Ukraine, which has firm support from the European Union. "Brussels, brace yourself. After the Republicans' defeat, Trump's wrath will fall on Europe," read the headline.
Iran's Tehran Times called the election "Operation Midterms Hammer" — a play on the U.S. military's Operation Midnight Hammer strikes on Iran in June 2025. Since the United States and Israel again launched war on Iran this February, the fallout has pushed up fuel prices, making affordability a major campaign issue.
In Israel, which held its own inconclusive, high-turnout elections last week, headlines focused on what the Democrats' victory means for its support from the U.S.
The Times of Israel ran a headline focusing on Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's triumph in the U.S. Senate race, saying "Anti-Israel El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate race, pledges no money for 'apartheid, genocide.'" A headline in Israel's Haaretz read: "Abdul El-Sayed Shows Opposition to Israel Is No Barrier to Winning Battleground States."
Headlines in Palestinian media focused on El-Sayed's defense of Palestinian rights and references to Gaza's children. They also reacted to victories for Palestinian-Americans and other pro-Palestinian candidates, including a New Jersey doctor who volunteered in Gaza.
Newspapers in U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico also noted the results were a rebuke and setback for Trump.
It was a whopping defeat for the Republicans. The Democratic Party won control of both chambers of Congress, as well as victories in states the Democrats hadn't won in decades.
Trump on Wednesday said part of the reason was that the war in Iran has driven up fuel prices. But he said if he had to, he would go to war all over again.
Some foreign politicians celebrate, others keep silent
Foreign leaders often shy away from commenting directly on U.S. midterms, unlike with presidential elections. However, this time several have made public statements.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that with Trump accepting the midterm results, the focus can turn to ending wars and bringing down prices.
"The world has an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all, and that's the cost of living," Burnham told reporters Wednesday. "I can't get people's cost of living pressures down until the conflict in the Middle East is resolved, the conflict in Ukraine started by Russia, these are the things we have to focus on now."
"I feel the world has an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all - and that's the cost of living."
— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 4, 2026
Reacting to the Democrats' victory over Trump's Republicans in the Senate, PM Andy Burnham says now is an opportunity to focus on other matters. pic.twitter.com/xkGl4eogSY
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has an acrimonious relationship with Trump, was forthright in his response.
"Yesterday, American society voted against policies that only impoverish. Against hate. Against machismo. Against climate denialism and against the privileges of the elites," Sánchez wrote on social media.
He then alluded to the recent election in Brazil, where the left-wing incumbent president defeated a Trump ally, as well as upcoming Spanish elections later this month. "It happened in Brazil. It just happened in the U.S. And it will happen soon in Spain," he wrote.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow is "sincerely" counting on President Trump continuing his diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. "There are already results. Soon we'll have another round of trilateral talks," Peskov said in reference to negotiations set for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, next week.
Peskov also pointed to first lady Melania Trump's "successful humanitarian peace efforts" in evacuating civilians from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, Ukraine. "We hope this will all continue."
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, however, suggested the Democrats return to power in both chambers of Congress doesn't bode well for U.S.-Russian relations. "The approach of the activist wing of the Democratic Party towards Russia is extremely negative. There's nothing new in that," Ryabkov told the RIA-Novosti state news service.
Germany's leader, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said he thinks little will change. Trump has mostly governed without involving Congress since taking office in 2025, Merz said in Berlin, and he is likely to continue to do so.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul expressed optimism about the potential for "more discussions in Congress, including between both parties, about what can be done together to support Ukraine." And Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said the election result "certainly inspires confidence."
Fellow NATO ally Norway's prime minister, Jonas Gahr Stoere, said the results are a "powerful political signal about a change of course among American voters." Speaking to Reuters, Stoere said "voices are now emerging in American politics that are closer to us than the president and the administration have stood for, for example on climate and environment, and in foreign policy and development aid policy."
In South Africa, where diplomatic relations with the U.S. are at an all-time low after Trump falsely accused the government of persecuting its white minority, President Cyril Ramaphosa said, "The people of America have spoken."
"I do think that this is going to introduce a new era in world relations," he said, as he cast his own ballot in South Africa's municipal elections Wednesday. "We're hoping that on a bilateral basis there will be a coming together of minds."
A spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry told a daily press conference that the midterm elections "are an internal affair of the United States." She added that "China is willing to continue working with the U.S. to … strengthen communication, properly manage differences, expand cooperation, and build a constructive, strategically stable China-U.S. relationship based on the principles of respect, fairness, and reciprocity."
Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, told a news conference that Japan's alliance with the U.S. remains essential for global peace and stability, regardless of the outcome of midterm elections.
The alliance "remains the cornerstone of Japan's foreign and security policy" and is crucial to "maximizing its national interests" amid an increasingly volatile and uncertain global situation," he added.
Middle East reacts
Iran's Parliament Speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf commented online: "Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message. If the US govt betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare."
Other Iranian government social media accounts posted artificial intelligence-generated videos of Trump being tossed into a dumpster.
For Israel, the U.S. midterm results fall during a time of political uncertainty, amid coalition-building talks after Trump's ally, incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, lost his parliamentary majority in Oct. 27 Israeli elections.
"In some ways Netanyahu lost two elections in the last week," Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst on Israel at the International Crisis Group, told NPR.
Netanyahu's rivals seized on the midterm results. Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan said they reveal "just how toxic Netanyahu is among both Democrats and Republicans." Another leader in the opposition, Yair Lapid, said that the results "eliminate any possibility of a unity government led by Netanyahu."
Laura Cain in London, Charles Maynes in Moscow, Esme Nicholson in Berlin, Lauren Frayer in Tel Aviv, Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Istanbul, Aya Batrawy in Dubai and Anthony Kuhn in Seoul contributed reporting.
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