Photo: European Parliament, via Wikimedia Commons. Official portrait of Jordan Bardella, 2024 — file photo, not a photo of the midterm results.
Europe's far-right politicians began distancing themselves from Donald Trump on Wednesday, November 4, after the Democrats' sweeping victory in the US midterm elections — blaming the war with Iran, and the cost-of-living pressures it deepened, for the Republicans' defeat. The shift is striking because many of the same leaders celebrated their ideological ties with Trump after his 2024 victory, with some visiting Washington and receiving backing from his billionaire ally Elon Musk. Now, mostly without criticising the president by name, they are putting daylight between themselves and him.
Bardella: a second term less isolationist than the first
Jordan Bardella, president of France's National Rally — the party most polls suggest could form the next French government — typified the shift. He said the verdict of the ballot box must be respected, noting that midterms are almost always unfavourable to the incumbent president. But he drew a sharp contrast with Trump's first term, from 2017 to 2021, when he said the ambition was to withdraw the United States from major global conflicts. "American intervention regarding Iran carries very heavy consequences," Bardella said, arguing that the war had pushed up oil prices and squeezed the purchasing power of citizens in both the United States and Europe.
Weidel: a broken promise on foreign policy
In Germany, Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), was blunter. Speaking to the online outlet T-Online, she attributed the Republican loss directly to Iran. "Trump had promised his voters not to pursue an interventionist foreign policy," Weidel said. "This broken promise has now come back to haunt the Republicans." In Italy, Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League party, which is part of the ruling coalition, said democracy works and a people's vote must be respected and understood — and expressed hope that the vote could accelerate an end to the conflicts and a return to peace.
Other voices on Europe's right went further. Roberto Vannacci, a former Italian general who leads the Futuro Nazionale party, said the US result showed the political dangers of failing to deliver on electoral promises: Trump, he said, had failed to live up to expectations, had been unable to bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and had launched a war against Iran. Rupert Lowe, leader of Britain's Restore Britain party, also blamed the decision to attack Iran for the Republicans' defeat, asking in a lengthy post on X: "What has this war achieved? Absolutely nothing of worth." Notably, Lowe did not include the name of the president who launched the war.
From asset to liability?
Trump himself has acknowledged that the war with Iran played a role in his party's losses, while saying he stands by his decision. Analysts say the European reaction is, in part, simple political calculation. Mujtaba Rahman, managing director of the political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, told Reuters that Trump's growing unpopularity, particularly over the cost of living, risks turning what was once a political asset for Europe's far right into an electoral liability.
The distancing does not mean a rupture. The leaders quoted have avoided direct attacks on Trump himself, and their parties still share much of his politics on immigration, sovereignty and cultural issues. But the midterm result has changed the calculation: association with a president blamed for an unpopular war and rising prices is now something Europe's far right is handling with visible care — and that caution, from politicians who once courted the comparison, is itself a measure of how far the political mood has shifted since Tuesday's vote.
Sources: Reuters, "European far right distances itself from Trump, blaming Iran war for Republicans' defeat," November 4, 2026; Reuters world reaction roundup, November 4, 2026; The Telegraph (India), "World reacts to US midterm election," November 4, 2026. Quotes are as reported by Reuters and the outlets cited; the assessment of electoral risk is attributed to Eurasia Group analyst Mujtaba Rahman.