Spot the Spin: 2026 Election Edition

The day after the 2026 midterms, I wanted to look at the responses, not the results. Gina Hinojosa beat Greg Abbott in Texas, James Talarico beat Ken Paxton, Troy Jackson beat Susan Collins in Maine, and Democrats won big across the map. For me, the more interesting story is what people said next.

It started the day before the vote, when Trump stood at the Reflecting Pool and said that "for some reason, the sitting president doesn't win the midterms." House Speaker Mike Johnson made the same argument on election night. I read that as blaming the calendar: lower expectations so the loss reads as history, not a verdict. We compare it to 2010, when Barack Obama called his party's loss a "shellacking."

Then election night itself. Trump went after Jessica Tarlov's voice, blamed Fox News and a 27% ratings drop with no source behind it, blamed Greg Abbott, and blamed gas prices. I share how these moves line up with history, from Joseph McCarthy and "Have you no decency?" to Spiro Agnew's "nattering nabobs of negativism."

We also look at Anthony Constantino's victory speech in New York's 21st, the early fraud claims, and the candidates who conceded with grace, including Roger Marshall in Kansas. At the end: JD Vance's post-election message about the Iran war, and what it may say about where he goes next.

The PR Breakdown is a weekly look at the PR moves and the spin behind the headlines, from a crisis communication and reputation management consultant. This episode was recorded live on November 4.

00:00 Spot the Spin: election edition
01:10 The Reflecting Pool speech
02:05 The scoreboard
06:15 Blame the calendar
08:45 Obama's "shellacking"
09:22 Blame the commentator
11:20 "The lying media"
12:31 McCarthy and "Have you no decency?"
13:52 The "root out" rhetoric
15:20 Blame the network
17:38 Blame gas prices
18:37 "Nattering nabobs of negativism"
19:13 The sore winner
22:07 The early fraud claim
23:51 The courage to concede
24:57 Al Gore, 2000
25:52 Why Truth Social doesn't land
26:06 JD Vance's post-election message
27:40 Closing

Every week I break down the biggest PR crises in the news: the slips, the moves, the scandals, and the lessons behind the headlines. I'm Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation strategist, known to my audience as the PR Lady. This channel is home base for the podcast and my weekly Substack live chats. Subscribe and follow along.

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