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Donald Trump got the first major pummelling of his second term in office last night, as a wave of blue victories in Virginia, New Jersey and New York humiliated Republicans. But if you think he's going to let the city of his birth succumb to a socialist invader without sending at least a couple of marines in, you simply haven't been paying attention. He even teased what was to come on his Truth Social account late last night. Meanwhile, in Trumpworld Here's everything you need to know... New Yorkers elected Zohran Mamdani, a left-wing Democrat and frequent target of Donald Trump's fury, to be the city's next Mayor. The result is likely to infuriate the US President, who has branded Mamdani a "communist". Trump had repeatedly threatened to cut off funding to America's biggest city if Mamdani was elected. "I will wake up each morning with a singular purpose: To make this city better for you than it was the day before," Mamdani promised New Yorkers in a defiant victory speech. Speaking directly to the President, who is rumoured to be planning retribution against New York for electing his nemesis, Mamdani said: "To get to any of us, you will have to go through all of us." Mamdani, who will be the city's first Muslim mayor, was up against former Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo - standing as an independent after Mamdani defeated him in the Democrat primary election. Read the full story here Donald Trump fumed as Republicans were roundly humiliated in last night's US elections - losing race after race to Democrat candidates. And he gave a chilling indication of how he'll respond to the drubbing. Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump pointed to polling that suggested people's failure to vote Republican was down, in part to him not being on the ballot. And he appeared to accept that the government shutdown, which is into its second month, had hurt the Republican party at the polls. He wrote: "TRUMP WASN'T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT," according to Pollsters." Trump is never legally allowed to be "on the ballot" again - but the message will be seen as an acknowledgement that his party has a problem without him. But he and his allies have repeatedly teased the idea of him standing for or serving a third term in office - something illegal under the US constitution, but which Trump has failed to rule out trying to pursue. His Truth Social post last night will be seen as a message to Republicans that their only future is with him at the top of the ticket. Trump kept posting late into the night, repeatedly urging Republicans to pass "voter reform" legislation in response to their defeats. He wrote: "Pass Voter Reform, Voter ID, No Mail-In Ballots. Save our Supreme Court from "Packing," No Two State addition, etc. TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER!!!" He then made an apparent threat: "…AND SO IT BEGINS!" In California, voters overwhelmingly backed a plan to redraw constituency boundaries - to defend against Republican gerrymandering. California Governor Gavin Newsom told supporters "we can ... end Donald Trump's presidency as we know it," in next year's mid-term election. "It is all on the line, a bright line, in 2026." The government shutdown has entered its 36th day, breaking the record as the longest ever and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans with federal program cuts, flight delays and federal workers nationwide left without pay. Trump has refused to negotiate with Democrats over their demands to salvage expiring health insurance subsidies until they agree to reopen the government. But skeptical Democrats question whether the Republican president will keep his word, particularly after the administration restricted SNAP food aid, despite court orders to ensure funds are available to prevent hunger. Trump, whose first term at the White House set the previous government shutdown record, is set to meet early Wednesday for breakfast with GOP senators. But no talks have been scheduled with the Democrats. “Why is this happening? We’re in a shutdown because our colleagues are unwilling to come to the table to talk about one simple thing: health care premiums,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar in a late evening speech.c“Stop this mess, come to the table, negotiate it,” she said. Trump's White House has been ordered to release funds to pay for SNAP benefits - the country's biggest food assistance programme - by a judge. And yesterday he said he'd only do that if Democrats cave on the shutdown and agree to reopen the government. Asked how that doesn't put the White House breach of a court order, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "I've now answered this question several times. We are complying with the court's order." (Note: They're not) Leavitt was asked repeatedly why Trump got an MRI during his recent visit to Walter Reed medical centre. "As President Trump said, he would inquire with the physicians," she said. "I'll check back on that. Every single the day president is in optimal physical health." An MRI is not something one often gets without being told why. Trump raised some eyebrows the other day when, during his 60 Minutes interview, he said of the Crypto founder and convicted money launderer he pardoned: "I don't know who he is." Asked what he meant by that, Leavitt said: "He means he does not know him personally. He means he does not have a personal relationship with this individual. And when it comes to pardons the White House takes them with the utmost seriousness and the President understands the responsibility he has as President to issue clemency and issue pardons to people who are seeking that. That's why we have a thorough review process that moves with the Department of Justice and the White House Counsel's office, there's a whole team of qualified lawyers who look through every single pardon request, that ultimately make their way up to the President of the United States. He's the ultimate final decision maker, and he was very clear when he came into office that he was most interested in looking after and pardoning individuals that were abused and used by the Biden Department of Justice and were overprosecuted by a weaponised DOJ. "The individual you're referring to that was certainly the case." She added that Trump is ending the Biden Amdministration's "war on the cryptocurrency industry." Just in time for Christmas. Leavitt told reporters Trump was "aware" of the death of Dick Cheney, which emerged several hours before her press briefing. Normally the Press Secretary is briefed with warm words and condolences pretty quickly following deaths of Cheney's stature. Yet his tribute, via Leavitt, amounted to: "I know the president is aware of the former vice president's passing, and as you saw flags have been lowered to half staff in accordance with statutory law." Why the cold response? Could it have anything to do with Cheney and wife Liz backing Kamala Harris in last year's election? Surely not.
