As the United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump prepares for his visit to the Philippines for the 49th ASEAN Summit on November 16, his Republican and right-wing allies all over the world are slipping from power.
In the U.S. midterm elections, the Democratic Party took back control over both the Senate and the House of Representatives in a seismic rebuke of Trump’s Grand Old Party, or the Republicans. The results came alongside electoral defeats for right-wing political movements in Brazil and Serbia, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces an uncertain future after losing the parliamentary majority.
AMERICA TurnS Blue
The 2026 midterm elections in the United States sees the Democratic Party winning, not just in the House with over 240 seats, but also in the Senate with approximately 54. This gives the Democrats great power to investigate the president’s agenda and block or challenge his legislative priorities.
In traditionally red Texas, for example, the state finds James Talarico as its first-ever Democrat in the Senate seat in over four decades, while Democrat Gina Hinojosa became the first Hispanic woman to serve as its governor since 1995. Kansas likewise surprisingly flipped from red to blue and sent Democrat Adam Hamilton to Congress, a first since 1932.
Rolling Stone pointed out that this was all due to Trump’s war in Iran, harsh tariff policy, and overall instability, which have rocked the global economy and affected his own popularity.
Brazil Goes Left
Such a political shift was reflected in Brazil, with incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, or Lula, winning (51.8 percent) for yet another term against popularist right-wing Flávio Bolsonaro (48.2 percent) on October 25.
Trump, who remains close allies with the Bolsonaro family, even questioned the results. “I didn’t take sides, but it looked like another rigged election,” he told reporters after the elections.
Four years ago, Lula defeated Bolsonaro’s father, Jair Bolsonaro, in the 2022 presidential elections. CNN reported that the Brazilian authorities have indicted Bolsonaro and 36 other individuals after an alleged coup plot against his successor. He fled to Florida after being granted entry by the U.S. government.
Both Bolsonaro and Trump did not accept their losses in the presidential elections in 2020 and 2022. Flávio’s candidacy was thereby viewed as an attempt to carry forward his father’s legacy and push forward Brazil’s right-wing leadership.
Serbia’s Student List WINS
In Serbia, a student-backed opposition movement defeated longtime nationalist leader Aleksandar Vučić in the October 25 parliamentary elections.
The Student List won 52.7 percent of the seats, and ended Vučić’s and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) 14-year dominance. The snap elections came from nearly two years of anti-government protests after a deadly railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad, killing 16 people in November 2024.
Trump and Vučić are known close allies, along with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, all sharing the same populist images and ideologies. In 2024, Vučić has even praised Trump’s leadership. “Serbia supports the actions of the administration of President Donald Trump and sees in his work an opportunity for establishing a more just order in the world and a more responsible attitude towards Serbia as a close American ally from both world wars,” Vučić said in his 2024 U.N. General Assembly speech.
While Vučić acknowledged the win of the students, he also had something to blame his defeat on. “This was the verification of a revolution that they carried out directly with support of different European countries and the deep American state, the one that is also against President Trump,” he said.
netanyahu loses majority in israel
Israel’s Central Elections Committee has officially certified the results of the October 27 elections in Israel, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition losing its parliamentary majority.
Netanyahu’s right-wing, religious bloc, led by Likud, gained 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Gadi Eisenkot’s centrist bloc won 48 seats, while the Arab-led parties secured 19. A 61-member party is required to obtain a majority in the Knesset, and with a majority gone, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog must take the first steps in forming the new government through consultations with representatives from each elected party to determine who they recommend for prime minister. Herzog began the process on November 4, which leaves the formation of the next government uncertain and Netanyahu’s future dependent on the coalition negotiations.
Trump and Netanyahu’s political relationship can be traced back to 2013 when Trump, then a businessman, supported Netanyahu in his election campaigns and released a video telling Israelis to “vote for Benjamin.” Their alliance continued in Trump’s first term as U.S. president, and was strengthened further when Trump returned to power for his second term. In February 2026, both the U.S. and Israel, under Trump and Netanyahu, launched coordinated military strikes against Iran.
According to an early 2026 survey by the Pew Research Center, Democrats hold an unfavorable view of Israel, while 6 in 10 Americans have little or no confidence in Netanyahu.
THE PHILIPPINES STAYS CLOSE
And for the Philippines? Well. Manila remains an “ironclad” partner of Washington under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with both governments reaffirming their commitment to defense cooperation and regional security — particularly as tensions with China continue in the West Philippine Sea.
Beyond mere defense, the local government continues to push for economic ties with the U.S. and is still hell-bent on pushing through with the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative. As of November 3, the draft agreement prepared by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) awaits Washington’s approval. According to Palace Communications Officer Claire Castro, the government will even look into whether the process could be expedited so that it could be signed during the 49th ASEAN Summit by Trump himself.
History has unfolded for America. And how the Philippines would be impacted by the (positive) shifts remains to be seen, as well as whether this change could also translate into our very own political future.
Trump last visited Manila in 2017 — during his first presidential term — for the 31st ASEAN Summit.
frequently ASKED QUESTIONS
President Donald Trump is set to visit the Philippines for the 49th ASEAN Summit on November 16. It would be his first trip to Manila since 2017, when he attended the 31st ASEAN Summit during his first term as U.S. president.
Democrats claimed the majority of the seats in the U.S. midterm elections, retaking both the House of Representatives and the Senate from Trump’s Republican Party.
Brazil’s Flávio Bolsonaro lost the October 25 presidential election to Lula, Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić was defeated by the student-backed Students’ List, and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu lost his coalition’s Knesset majority. Trump’s Republicans also lost both congressional chambers in the U.S. midterms.
A student-backed opposition movement ended the Serbian Progressive Party’s 14-year dominance in the October 25 snap elections. The elections followed nearly two years of anti-government protests sparked by the November 2024 Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse, which killed 16 people.
Manila remains an “ironclad” partner of Washington under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with both governments reaffirming defense cooperation amid tensions with China in the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines is also pursuing the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative, whose draft agreement awaits Washington’s approval.
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