| Country | Who | Venue | Gist |
|---|
| Spain | PM Pedro Sánchez | X post | Voters rejected "hatred" and "climate denial" |
| Norway | PM Jonas Gahr Støre | To Reuters | "A powerful political signal" |
| South Africa | President Cyril Ramaphosa | To reporters | "A new era in world relations" |
| Japan | Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara | Press briefing | Alliance is "the cornerstone," regardless |
| Greece | Spokesman Pavlos Marinakis | Skai TV | "Nothing will be affected" |
| China | Spokesperson Mao Ning | Press briefing | "An internal affair of the United States" |
| Russia | Deputy FM Sergei Ryabkov | To RIA | Policy "does not depend on" other countries' politics |
| Iran | Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf | X post | "Americans said NO TO WAR" |
| Germany | Defense Minister Boris Pistorius | Berlin conference | Congratulated Democrats; administration "will remain the same" |
| Poland | PM Donald Tusk | Press conference | "Democracy won in America"; advised against governing by veto |
| Czech Republic | PM Andrej Babiš | Reuters | Expects "impeachment and vetoes, and a certain kind of paralysis" |
| France | Finance Minister Roland Lescure | BFM TV | Trump must decide whether to "rise above the fray" |
| Italy | PM Giorgia Meloni | To reporters | "We'll talk about America another time" |
","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"Sources: [Reuters via Yahoo](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/international-politicians-react-democrats-winning-095807031.html); [Reuters via Devdiscourse](https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/4001521-quotes-international-politicians-react-to-democrats-winning-us-midterms); [eldiario.es](https://www.eldiario.es/politica/ultima-hora-dimision-oscar-puente-actualidad-politica_6_13636217_1126282.html); [TimesLIVE](https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/world/2026-11-04-ramaphosa-says-us-midterms-spark-hope-for-a-reset-in-world-relations/); [WION](https://www.wionews.com/world/china-says-willing-to-continue-working-with-us-after-trump-s-midterm-setback-1793780833237); [Arab News](https://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/iranian-speaker-says-us-vote-shows-americans-have-rejected-iran-war-3009720); [ZDF](https://www.zdfheute.de/politik/ausland/midterms-usa-reaktionen-deutschland-100.html); [Rzeczpospolita](https://www.rp.pl/polityka/art45443351-donald-tusk-skomentowal-wybory-w-usa-mam-rade-dla-donalda-trumpa-jestesmy-kolegami); [Il Foglio](https://www.ilfoglio.it/en/politics/2026/11/04/news/the-broad-coalition-is-capitalising-on-the-democrats-mid-term-victory-to-campaign-meloni-well-talk-about-america-another-time--412621). All statements made November 4, 2026.\n\n### Leaders who welcomed the result\n\nSpain's prime minister went furthest. Pedro Sánchez posted on X that \"the American people voted against policies that only serve to impoverish people. Against hatred. Against sexism. Against climate denial and against the privileges of the elites,\" in Reuters' translation. In the Spanish original he added that the same thing \"happened in Brazil\" and \"will happen soon in Spain.\" He said the \"far-right wave\" his domestic rivals Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Santiago Abascal \"are trying to jump on is no longer growing: it is crumbling,\" [eldiario.es reported](https://www.eldiario.es/politica/ultima-hora-dimision-oscar-puente-actualidad-politica_6_13636217_1126282.html). Sánchez faces his own electoral test, and the post reads as much as a domestic message as a foreign-policy one.\n\nNorway's Jonas Gahr Støre told Reuters the vote was \"a powerful political signal about a change of course among American voters.\" He said \"voices are now emerging in American politics that are closer to us than the president and the administration, for example on climate and environment, and in foreign policy and development aid policy.\" South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa spoke after voting in his own country's municipal elections. He said \"the people of America have spoken\" and that \"this is going to introduce a new era in world relations,\" [TimesLIVE reported](https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/world/2026-11-04-ramaphosa-says-us-midterms-spark-hope-for-a-reset-in-world-relations/). Two days earlier, Washington had [suspended South Africa from the AGOA trade preference program](https://567politics.com/news/us-suspends-south-africa-rwanda-agoa-greer-november-2026). He called that \"a negative for us\" and said \"diversification has now become the order of the day.\"\n\nIn Germany, Defense Minister [Boris Pistorius](https://567politics.com/politicians/boris-pistorius) congratulated Democrats on a \"historic victory\" at the Berlin Security Conference but added that \"the US administration will remain the same, and we will continue to cooperate with it trustfully,\" [ZDF reported](https://www.zdfheute.de/politik/ausland/midterms-usa-reaktionen-deutschland-100.html). Poland's Donald Tusk spoke at a joint press conference with the Czech prime minister. He said \"democracy won in America\" and \"President Trump is still president.\" His advice, he said, would be \"not to overuse the veto as a method of governing,\" [Rzeczpospolita reported](https://www.rp.pl/polityka/art45443351-donald-tusk-skomentowal-wybory-w-usa-mam-rade-dla-donalda-trumpa-jestesmy-kolegami). London Mayor Sadiq Khan called the result \"a true rejection of the damaging and divisive politics of Donald Trump,\" [the Evening Standard reported](https://www.aol.co.uk/articles/us-midterms-2026-donald-trump-075758000.html).\n\n### Leaders who stressed continuity\n\nJapan's chief cabinet secretary, Minoru Kihara, told his regular briefing that \"regardless of the outcome of this election, the Japan-US alliance is the cornerstone of Japan's foreign and security policy,\" per Reuters. Greece's government spokesman said \"nothing will be affected by this outcome.\" He added that \"on the key committees there will be individuals with whom the Greek government has very good relations.\" Taiwan's foreign ministry issued a written statement. It described its U.S. policy as \"guided by the principles of non-partisanship\" and promised to keep working with \"parties in the US Congress, and the executive branch.\" A British health minister, James Frith, said the UK-US relationship \"is unwavering and unchanging.\"\n\nChina's foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said the elections were \"an internal affair of the United States.\" China was \"willing to continue working with the US to uphold and implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state,\" she said, [WION reported from the briefing](https://www.wionews.com/world/china-says-willing-to-continue-working-with-us-after-trump-s-midterm-setback-1793780833237). Germany's transatlantic coordinator, Metin Hakverdi, put the same point in domestic terms. \"Foreign policy is determined by the president,\" he said. But \"the domestic political pressure on Donald Trump is growing,\" and Democrats \"now have a whole series of parliamentary rights in their toolbox,\" [per t-online](https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/ausland/usa/id_101512102/us-midterms-pistorius-gratuliert-demokraten-iran-meldet-sich-zu-wort.html).\n\n### Adversaries\n\nRussia's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, told the RIA agency that \"the Democratic Party leadership's approach to relations with Russia is sharply negative.\" Russia's line on Ukraine, he said, \"does not depend on the fluctuations of the political barometer in other countries.\" Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, posted on X that \"Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message.\" He added that if the U.S. government \"betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare,\" [Reuters reported via Arab News](https://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/iranian-speaker-says-us-vote-shows-americans-have-rejected-iran-war-3009720). Other Iranian officials struck different notes. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday that \"we do not tie our foreign policy to elections in other countries.\" A lawmaker, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said \"there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to America's hostile policies,\" [Ynet collected](https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bkxvwtdtfx). Those are claims by officials of a government at war with the United States; they establish what Tehran chose to say, not what American voters meant. Our coverage of the [Doha mediation](https://567politics.com/news/iran-doha-talks-draft-proposal-hormuz-plan-november-2026) tracks the diplomacy itself.\n\n### Right-of-center Europe\n\nLeaders aligned with Trump mostly declined to comment or blamed the Iran war rather than the broader project. Italy's [Giorgia Meloni](https://567politics.com/politicians/giorgia-meloni), asked at an Armed Forces Day ceremony in Rome, said \"we'll talk about America another time,\" [Il Foglio reported](https://www.ilfoglio.it/en/politics/2026/11/04/news/the-broad-coalition-is-capitalising-on-the-democrats-mid-term-victory-to-campaign-meloni-well-talk-about-america-another-time--412621). France's [Jordan Bardella](https://567politics.com/politicians/jordan-bardella) said one \"must respect the verdict of the ballot box,\" and that midterms almost always go against the incumbent president. He added that \"American intervention regarding Iran carries very heavy consequences\" for European purchasing power through oil prices, per Reuters. Germany's [Alice Weidel](https://567politics.com/politicians/alice-weidel) of the AfD told t-online that \"Trump had promised his voters not to pursue an interventionist foreign policy.\" She said \"this broken promise has now come back to haunt the Republicans.\" In Poland, the president's foreign-policy chief, Marcin Przydacz, said voters \"decided on change.\" He called the result \"a memento for D. Tusk and his people,\" [Polsat News reported](https://www.polsatnews.pl/wiadomosc/2026-11-04/polscy-politycy-reaguja-na-wybory-w-usa-jest-glos-z-kancelarii-prezydenta/).\n\n### Who stayed silent\n\nAs of about 11 a.m. Eastern, we found no statement from Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, Keir Starmer, Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa, Mark Carney, Claudia Sheinbaum, Narendra Modi, Sanae Takaichi, Anthony Albanese, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva or Benjamin Netanyahu. Sheinbaum had said on Tuesday that \"it is not our place to comment today\" and that Mexico would \"respect whatever the result,\" [Infobae reported](https://www.infobae.com/mexico/2026/11/03/gobierno-de-mexico-garantiza-respetar-resultado-de-eleccion-en-eeuu-no-nos-corresponde-opinar-dice-sheinbaum/). Silence from a head of government is normal practice after another country's legislative election and should not be read as a position.\n\n## Why the Israel aid announcement drew the sharpest reaction\n\nThe one foreign-policy decision Trump announced on election night concerned Israel. He said on Fox & Friends that the roughly $4 billion in annual U.S. military aid \"gets cut off at the end of the year.\" Netanyahu, he said, had told him \"it would be appropriate if we do not receive aid,\" [the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported](https://www.jta.org/2026/11/03/israel/trump-says-us-aid-to-israel-will-stop-at-end-of-year). Netanyahu's office did not comment. Israeli opposition figures did. Yair Golan called the cutoff \"heavy damage to Israel's security.\" Gadi Eisenkot said Netanyahu \"must provide answers to Israeli citizens, tonight,\" [the Times of Israel reported](https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-says-us-to-end-4-billion-in-annual-military-aid-to-israel-by-end-of-2026/). Our separate report on [the aid announcement](https://567politics.com/news/israel-trump-end-us-aid-4-billion-netanyahu-officials-not-told-november-2026) has the Israeli reaction in full.\n\nThe legal position matters for every government reading the result. The 2016 memorandum of understanding promised $38 billion over fiscal years 2019 through 2028, or $3.3 billion a year in foreign military financing plus $500 million for missile defense. The Congressional Research Service notes that such memoranda \"are not legally binding agreements like treaties.\" Congress appropriates the money year by year, [in its May 2025 report on U.S. aid to Israel](https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/2025-05-28_RL33222_5306b5d4e077538d2db80d05cd10ca8c08501669.html). A president cannot cancel an appropriation Congress has enacted; he can decline to request one, and Congress can enact one he did not request. In practice the aid will depend on what the new Democratic majorities write into the fiscal 2027 bills and whether Trump signs them.\n\n## What a Democratic Congress controls\n\nForeign governments are right that the president sets foreign policy day to day. They are also right that Congress holds levers. The table lists the main ones and the catch attached to each.","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"},{"role":"htmltable","html":"| Lever | Who holds it | The catch |
|---|
| Appropriations (Ukraine, Israel, any aid) | Both chambers, by law | President can veto; override needs two-thirds |
| War powers resolution on Iran | Both chambers, expedited in Senate | Subject to veto; prior measures were vetoed or ignored |
| Treaties | Senate, two-thirds present | Only for formal treaties, not executive deals |
| NATO withdrawal | Barred without Senate consent or an act of Congress | Enacted in the FY2024 defense bill |
| Tariffs | Congress, after the Supreme Court's IEEPA ruling | Administration shifted to Sections 122, 232 and 301 |
","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"Sources: [Constitution Annotated on the Appropriations Clause](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-1/section-9/clause-7/overview-of-the-appropriations-clause); [CRS R42699 on the War Powers Resolution](https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R42699.html); [Constitution Annotated on the Treaty Clause](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-2/section-2/clause-2); [22 U.S.C. § 1928f](https://statutes.vaquill.ai/section/USC_T22_C24_S1928f); [Cornell LII on Learning Resources v. Trump](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/Learning_Resources_v_Trump_2026).\n\nOn Ukraine, the numbers show how much depends on appropriations. CRS counted $68.2 billion in U.S. security assistance committed from February 2022 through June 2026. But Congress \"has not made significant new Ukraine funding available since April 2024.\" Presidential drawdown authority was cut to $100 million for fiscal 2025 and 2026, [per the CRS August 2026 brief](https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/2026-08-31_IF12040_b732b458ee1fe7527c3424284c4b36137ae2ee3f.html). The House passed a new Ukraine bill in June 2026 by 226 to 195 through a discharge petition; it did not become law. That is the context for Støre's and Schaldemose's hopes and for Ryabkov's dismissal. Our report on [the Abu Dhabi trilateral talks](https://567politics.com/news/ukraine-russia-us-abu-dhabi-trilateral-talks-timing-november-2026) covers the diplomatic track.\n\nOn Iran, House Democrats have said what they intend. Rep. Ted Lieu said that \"on day one, Democrats will pass a bill to end the Iran war,\" and Rep. Ro Khanna said he \"would stop the funding\" for further action, [Reason reported](https://reason.com/2026/11/04/how-democrats-can-stop-the-iran-war-now). A war-powers resolution can pass both chambers by simple majority, but the president can veto it, and Democrats lack the two-thirds needed to override. A funding restriction attached to a must-pass bill is harder to veto, but it invites a shutdown fight. Hakeem Jeffries, the likely next Speaker, said on election night that \"this is a change election\" and promised \"accountability,\" [WVXU reported](https://www.wvxu.org/news-from-npr/2026-11-04/house-democratic-leader-hakeem-jeffries-declares-america-is-back). Our report on [the House result](https://567politics.com/news/democrats-win-house-majority-jeffries-speaker-election-night-november-2026) covers his agenda.\n\nOn tariffs, the Supreme Court's February 2026 ruling in Learning Resources v. Trump held 6 to 3 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize tariffs, [per Cornell's case summary](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/Learning_Resources_v_Trump_2026). The administration moved to other statutes. Bernd Lange, who chairs the European Parliament's trade committee, warned that \"US protectionism won't disappear\" and that the \"EU cannot live at Trump's mercy,\" per Reuters. The Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš, predicted that \"until the end of President Trump's term, it will be all about impeachment and vetoes, and a certain kind of paralysis.\" At the same time, he said, \"President Trump will almost certainly continue to do exactly as he pleases.\" Those are forecasts, not findings. The record of divided government in the United States supports both readings at different times.\n\n## What foreign publics think\n\nRepresentative survey data on foreign views of the United States exist for 2026, though none yet measures reaction to the midterms. Pew Research Center surveyed 42,151 people in 36 countries between February 8 and May 13, 2026. Interviews were by telephone, face to face and online, with fieldwork run by Gallup and partner firms. The median share expressing confidence in Trump \"to do the right thing regarding world affairs\" was 23 percent. A median of 37 percent held a favorable view of the United States and 57 percent an unfavorable one. A median of 74 percent disapproved of his handling of Iran, [per Pew's June 23 report](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/06/23/trump-gets-negative-reviews-internationally-as-fewer-say-u-s-is-a-reliable-partner/). The share of Canadians calling the United States a reliable partner fell from 83 percent in 2022 to 35 percent.\n\n**Confidence in Trump on world affairs, spring 2026**\n\nPercent with a lot or some confidence; values read from Pew's country chart and rounded","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"},{"role":"htmltable","html":"