Top polling analyst pushes idea that Trump may just flat out ‘quit’ as president after disastrous midterms

A top polling analyst floated the idea that President Donald Trump may just flat out “quit” as a result of the Republican Party’s crippling defeats in the midterm elections.Nate Silver, who correctly predicted that Democrats would regain control of both the House and Senate, made the remarks on the Still Counting podcast Wednesday while discussing Vice President JD Vance’s political future.Following the November 3 elections, Vance issued a scathing post mortem, claiming “the reason we lost is the [Iran] war.” The statement struck some observers as a bid to distance himself from Trump. Their relationship, Silver said, is one to watch going forward.“It used to be a little bit more common for, like, presidents and vice presidents to be rivals,” Silver said. “We haven’t seen that recently… that dynamic’s going to be interesting.”“That's part of why I had just the weird intuition that maybe Trump will find some pretense to quit,” he continued. “Because he could get very, very isolated.”Polling analyst Nate Silver floated the idea that President Donald Trump may just flat out 'quit' as a result of the Republican Party's defeat in the midterm elections (Still Counting)Elsewhere on the podcast, Silver returned to his “hot take” scenario.“Do you think Trump would just go off to Mar-a-Lago, or go off to the West Village, and start a karaoke bar where he can comment about mens’ a**** all he wants?” he said. “Right? And let JD have the job?”Such a move would be almost unprecedented, and there is no evidence that Trump is considering it. Throughout American history, just one president has resigned from office: Richard Nixon in 1974.In fact, the president has appeared largely unfazed by the results of Tuesday’s elections, which saw Democrats romp to victory in numerous red states, including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.President Donald Trump has appeared largely unbothered by Tuesday’s election results, turning his attention to other issues like his White House ballroom (AFP/Getty)In an interview with Fox News on election night, Trump accepted that the Iran war may have played a role, but remained adamant he made the right decision in entering the conflict. He also blamed GOP candidates, congratulated Democrats on a job well done and signaled a willingness to work with the opposition party.By the next day, he seemed ready to move on to other things, offering reporters a tour of the White House ballroom, which is under construction. After dismissing a question about the threat of impeachment, Trump told one journalist: “Watch the beam go up,” referring to a steel beam being raised inside the ballroom.Behind the scenes, however, the mood among Trump administration officials is tense, with insiders scrambling to assign blame for Tuesday’s sweeping losses. Trump has reportedly called advisors to ask whether or not to dismiss Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has played a central role in the Iran war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also “on resignation watch,” The Independent reported, citing U.S. insiders and U.K. officials. The White House has denied both reports. A spokesperson told The Independent: “President Trump has a strong, united team singularly focused on delivering for the American people.”