Midterm Blowout: Dems Batter GOP & Elon Musk Is Out $500 Million | The Daily Show

What this episode is about

The piece analyzes the midterm election results, highlighting a sweeping Democratic victory across Congress, governorships, and several states, framed as a dramatic political realignment. It emphasizes the scale of the win, unexpected gains in traditionally Republican areas, and the broad impact on national politics.

Key takeaways

• Democrats’ blue wave defied gravity and geography, sweeping both chambers and unlikely red bastions alike.
• The midterms proved money isn’t magic; $500M couldn’t buy the result, spotlighting the cost of overinvestment.
• Election fatigue meets novelty: sweeping wins in conservative strongholds signal realignment beyond urban myths.
• Media bias wasn’t just missing coverage; it framed success as an anomaly, not a trend worth noting.
• If history repeats, midterms punish governing parties; yet this cycle rewrote the norm with unexpected longevity.

Who speaks in this episode?

• REPORTER 1 (Guest) · 1 min speaking
• REPORTER 3 (Guest) · 1 min speaking
• REPORTER 4 (Guest) · 1 min speaking
• REPORTER 5 (Guest) · 1 min speaking
• Troy Iwata (Guest) · 1 min speaking
• Michael Kosta (Guest) · 7 min speaking
• REPORTER 2 (Guest) · 1 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Blue Wave, Kansas, 2026 United States midterm elections, Michael Kosta
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, White House, SpaceX
3. 6:00 – 9:00: Donald Trump, Troy Iwata, Kansas, Texas
4. 9:00 – 10:52: The Daily Show, Troy Iwata, Britney Spears, Iran

Notable quotes from "Midterm Blowout: Dems Batter GOP & Elon Musk Is Out $500 Million | The Daily Show"

• REPORTER 4: In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews defeating the incumbent Darline Graham.

  about South Carolina · at 1:49

• But yes, Democrats weren't just cleaning up in blue states.

  about Blue Wave · at 2:34

• REPORTER 5: His preferred Republican candidates, Ken Paxton for Senate in Texas, Vivek Ramaswamy for governor in Ohio, swamped by their Democratic opponents.

  about Texas · at 3:24

• Continuing with our election coverage, Idaho voters also weighed in on a proposed official state firearm.

  about Idaho · at 4:23

• One of the most frustrating things for me, as the White House Press Secretary, was the bias of omission from the mainstream media.

  about Donald Trump · at 5:30

• Can anyone give me a sane, coherent explanation of why Trump lost?

  about Michael Kosta · at 7:18

• Do you remember in 2001 at the American Music Awards when Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake showed up together in those matching Canadian tuxedos?

  about Britney Spears · at 9:16

• This flip could force real change in this country, in our relationships around the world.

  about 2026 United States midterm elections · at 10:08

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Michael Kosta — Person · Host · 1 mention · first at 0:00
  Episode host and primary speaker delivering the monologue and guiding the segment about the midterms and aftermath.
• Donald Trump — Person · Referenced political figure · 4 mentions · first at 5:06
  Frequently referenced as the sitting president whose party lost big in the midterms; source of jokes about promised $5,000 and executive orders.
• Troy Iwata — Person · Guest / Senior White House Correspondent (segment character) · 2 mentions · first at 7:54
  Appears live in the segment as the Senior White House Correspondent reacting to the midterm losses and joking about expecting $5,000 promised by Trump.
  For more on President Trump's reaction to the midterms, let's go live to the White House with Senior White House Correspondent, Troy Iwata.
• Elon Musk — Person · Referenced billionaire/actor in the election · 1 mention · first at 3:08
  Mentioned as a tech billionaire who spent hundreds of millions supporting Republican candidates and lost — used for comedic effect about wasted spending.
  Tech billionaire Elon Musk, the SpaceX CEO, spent $446 million this cycle, the most any candidate has ever spent on an election.
• Annie Andrews — Person · Referenced winning candidate · 1 mention · first at 1:49
  Mentioned as the Democrat who defeated an incumbent in South Carolina — example of surprising Democratic wins used in the monologue.
  REPORTER 4: In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews defeating the incumbent Darline Graham.
• Ken Paxton — Person · Referenced candidate backed by Musk · 1 mention · first at 3:26
  Named as one of Elon Musk's preferred Republican candidates who lost, illustrating the futility of heavy outside spending.
  REPORTER 5: His preferred Republican candidates, Ken Paxton for Senate in Texas, Vivek Ramaswamy for governor in Ohio, swamped by their Democratic opponents.
• Vivek Ramaswamy — Person · Referenced candidate backed by Musk · 1 mention · first at 3:26
  Mentioned as a Musk-backed Republican (for Ohio governor) who was defeated, used to highlight widespread GOP losses.
  REPORTER 5: His preferred Republican candidates, Ken Paxton for Senate in Texas, Vivek Ramaswamy for governor in Ohio, swamped by their Democratic opponents.
• Lindsey Graham — Person · Referenced Republican figure · 1 mention · first at 6:59
  Mentioned in a joke about failing to secure votes for a family member (satirical line about 'Lindsey Graham's sister widow'), used to underscore Republican losses.
  You couldn't even get South Carolina to vote for Lindsey Graham's sister widow.
• Britney Spears — Person · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 9:19
  Used as part of an anecdotal pop-culture comparison (matching outfits with Justin Timberlake) to set up a joke about expensive jeans.
• Justin Timberlake — Person · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 9:19
  Referenced in an anecdote about Canadian tuxedos at the American Music Awards to set up a punchline about expensive jeans.
  Do you remember in 2001 at the American Music Awards when Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake showed up together in those matching Canadian tuxedos?
• O. J. Simpson — Person · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 7:07
  Invoked as part of a joke to signal a comedic line being a boundary ('That's where we draw the line').
  It's one thing to say that lots of couples have messy breakups.

Companies & orgs

• SpaceX — Company · Affiliation of referenced individual · 1 mention · first at 3:08
  Mentioned as Elon Musk's company to contextualize his identity as a tech billionaire who spent heavily in the cycle.
  Tech billionaire Elon Musk, the SpaceX CEO, spent $446 million this cycle, the most any candidate has ever spent on an election.
• Blue Man Group — Company · Humorous reference · 1 mention · first at 0:56
  Part of an extended 'blue' gag in the monologue, used purely for comedy.
  The Blue Man Group and Bluey snorted the blue meth from Breaking Bad while singing I'm blue-daboodi-dabooda.
• Pornhub — Company · Comedic reference · 1 mention · first at 1:33
  Mentioned jokingly to emphasize Democrats' dominance in search trends after the election — comedic exaggeration, not a focus of the segment.
  Shit, for the first time ever, they were the most searched category on Pornhub.

Products & tech

• Winchester 1873 — Product · Referenced ballot option (incidental) · 1 mention · first at 4:38
  One of the firearms listed on Idaho's ballot for official state firearm; mentioned as the winner — used as a comedic aside.
  The ballot gave voters six historic and modern firearms to choose from.

Concepts & topics

• Blue Wave — Concept · Core topic / framing metaphor · 3 mentions · first at 0:40
  Used repeatedly as a humorous descriptive motif to characterize the Democrats' sweeping wins across many races.

Places & events

• 2026 United States midterm elections — Event · Core topic · 1 mention · first at 0:04
  Represents the main electoral event discussed in the episode
• Kansas — Place · Example state · 3 mentions · first at 2:02
  Referenced as an example of historically Republican states flipping (humorously noting the last Democrat elected there was born when the light bulb was invented).
  The last time Kansas elected a Democratic senator, that senator was born in the year the light bulb was invented.
• Texas — Place · Example state · 2 mentions · first at 1:57
  Mentioned as a high-profile Republican state where Democratic wins surprised viewers; also referenced regarding candidates Elon Musk supported (Ken Paxton).
• White House — Place · Setting for correspondent segment · 2 mentions · first at 5:32
  Used as the location anchor for the live hit to the Senior White House Correspondent (Troy Iwata) discussing the President's reaction and post-election consequences.
  For more on President Trump's reaction to the midterms, let's go live to the White House with Senior White House Correspondent, Troy Iwata.
• South Carolina — Place · Example state · 2 mentions · first at 1:49
  Cited as a surprising flip where Democrat Annie Andrews defeated an incumbent, illustrating the scope of Democratic gains.
• Ohio — Place · Example state · 1 mention · first at 3:26
  Referenced as another state where Elon Musk-backed Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy lost (for governor), illustrating the breadth of Republican defeats.
  REPORTER 5: His preferred Republican candidates, Ken Paxton for Senate in Texas, Vivek Ramaswamy for governor in Ohio, swamped by their Democratic opponents.
• Idaho — Place · Example state / side story · 1 mention · first at 4:33
  Referenced for a humorous ballot initiative where voters chose an official state firearm; serves as a comedic aside in the larger midterms segment.
• Massachusetts — Place · Comparative reference · 1 mention · first at 4:15
  Used in a joke comparing national change to a local lesbian bar in Massachusetts to stress that not everywhere shifted politically.
  Although, just to be clear, it's not like the whole country is now that lesbian bar in Massachusetts.
• Lake Ontario — Place · Satirical example · 1 mention · first at 5:57
  Used in a satirical joke about Trump signing whimsical executive orders (renaming Lake Ontario to 'Lake America') to lampoon presidential theatrics.
  So we're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America.
• Army Navy Game — Event · Satirical example · 1 mention · first at 6:11
  Referenced as part of a comedic list of frivolous executive orders (preserving the second Saturday in December for the game) to mock performative presidential actions.
  I'm going to sign an executive order to ensure that the second Saturday in December is preserved forever for the Army Navy Game.
• Iran — Place · Referenced foreign policy topic (joke) · 1 mention · first at 10:12
  Mentioned in a bit where Troy Iwata tries to pivot to global issues but keeps referencing $5,000, highlighting comedic confusion in the correspondent bit.
  Think about the conflict in Iran.
• American Music Awards — Event · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 9:16
  Referenced in an anecdote about celebrity outfits to set up a joke about expensive jeans.
  Do you remember in 2001 at the American Music Awards when Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake showed up together in those matching Canadian tuxedos?

Media & podcasts

• The Daily Show — Media · Program · 2 mentions · first at 0:00
  The show producing the segment; provides host/guest context and comedic framing for the discussion of the midterms.
• Bluey — Media · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 0:56
  Included in the 'blue' gag to layer pop-culture references around the 'blue wave' theme.
  The Blue Man Group and Bluey snorted the blue meth from Breaking Bad while singing I'm blue-daboodi-dabooda.
• Breaking Bad — Media · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 0:56
  Used in a comedic bit describing 'blue' imagery; referenced to add pop-culture flavor to the 'blue' jokes.
  The Blue Man Group and Bluey snorted the blue meth from Breaking Bad while singing I'm blue-daboodi-dabooda.
• Deliverance — Media · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at 2:42
  Referenced to hyperbolically describe conservative areas flipping to Democratic candidates, used for comedic contrast.
  You remember that town in Deliverance?

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Michael Kosta. We have so much to talk about tonight. Oh, my God, the midterms! Holy shit! It's so exciting. Let's just get into it. [ROUSING MUSIC] # # Last night was election night, and ho-oh-oh-oh-oh holy shit. Democrats sweep the country, control Congress. REPORTER 1: A stunning shift sending shockwaves. REPORTER 2: A once-in-a-generation realignment. - Massive route. This was a shellacking. Shellacking. Is it a spanking? It's called a country ass whooping. A seismic political earthquake.

0:40 REPORTER 3: A blue wave. Massive blue wave, a blue-nami. That was a blue tsunami wrapped in a Cat V hurricane. This is a volcanic eruption of blue crayola. Ah! It's so blue. The Blue Man Group and Bluey snorted the blue meth from Breaking Bad while singing I'm blue-daboodi-dabooda. The point is, it was blue. Yes, last night was a blue-nami, a blue-bonic plague, a blue clear bomb resulting in blue billion human blasualties. Look, Democrats didn't just win the midterms yesterday. They made the midterms their bitch. They won the Senate.

1:24 They won the House. They won governor's races. They won Best Animated Picture. They won the rigged claw machine at the arcade. Shit, for the first time ever, they were the most searched category on Pornhub. I mean, talk about blue balls. But it wasn't just how much the Democrats won that was surprising. It was where they won. REPORTER 4: In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews defeating the incumbent Darline Graham. The state hasn't elected a Democrat since 1998. Texas has not had a Senator who is a Democrat since 1988.

2:02 The last time Kansas elected a Democratic senator, that senator was born in the year the light bulb was invented. Wow. The year of the light bulb? That's huge. And now, with a Democrat in charge, it may be possible to finally bring that technology to Kansas. Just to give you a sense of how crazy this is, up until yesterday, this was the last Democrat elected to the senate from Kansas. It was so long ago, they still thought a tie should go down to your nipples. But yes, Democrats weren't just cleaning up in blue states.

2:39 They were winning seats in some of the most conservative places in America. You remember that town in Deliverance? Last night, they elected a gay Black socialist. This was a historic night. In a lot of ways, it was America speaking loudly against endless wars, corruption, immigration, cruelty, and to some degree, ballrooms. And it was also historic because of how expensive it was. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, the SpaceX CEO, spent $446 million this cycle, the most any candidate has ever spent on an election. $500 million?

3:20 There is no way Democrats could beat that. REPORTER 5: His preferred Republican candidates, Ken Paxton for Senate in Texas, Vivek Ramaswamy for governor in Ohio, swamped by their Democratic opponents. Oh.

3:39 Poor Elon. Half a billion dollars and absolutely nothing to show for it. I mean, that could have been a three whole days of child support for him. Although I'd like to thank him for making the rest of us look great with money, right? Now, when my wife is mad that I bought that new WaveRunner, I can be like, well, at least I didn't spend $500 million trying to get a sloppy pervert elected in Texas. [CHEERS, APPLAUSE] So look-- yeah, sloppy pervert. So look, this was undoubtedly an incredible night for Democrats. Although, just to be clear, it's not like the whole country is now that lesbian bar in Massachusetts.

4:17 And in some places, it's still the same old America as always. Continuing with our election coverage, Idaho voters also weighed in on a proposed official state firearm. The ballot gave voters six historic and modern firearms to choose from. Oh, wow. Well, it's nice to see the right to choose is alive and well in Idaho. In case you're wondering, the Winchester 1873 came in first. The losing gun went into the bathroom and put a smaller version of itself in its mouth.

4:51 But as excited as Democrats were for last night's blue fast, blue furious, it was just as devastating for Republicans. And so last night was the time for some honest self-reflection from Trump supporters to figure out what went wrong. In some sense, Mr. Trump was too successful in the first year and didn't sell it enough in the second year. Of course, he didn't sell it enough. Because if there's one thing we know about Donald Trump, it's that he hates flaunting his own success. Oh, Donald, you're great undoing was your humility.

5:25 Does anyone want to be a little more realistic about why this loss was so monumental? One of the most frustrating things for me, as the White House Press Secretary, was the bias of omission from the mainstream media. The President would sign an amazing executive order in the Oval Office that is helping people. That is uplifting people. The mainstream media wouldn't cover it. Yes, of course. Hey, of course. If only the people had seen the amazing, uplifting, transformative executive orders that Trump gifted us. Like these.

5:57 So we're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America. I'm going to sign an executive order to ensure that the second Saturday in December is preserved forever for the Army Navy Game. Yes, yes. Thanks to Donald Trump, we can now use plastic straws when siphoning gas out of our neighbor's car because we can't afford it. You guys recognize how bad a loss this was, right? You're not going to-- you're not going to pretend that this is normal, are you? Don't be discouraged because this is normal.

6:37 This is what happens usually in a midterm. What you're seeing is, historically, the party in power loses the midterms. History matters. Midterms are very, very predictable. Come on. Yes, typically the President's party loses some ground in the midterms. You guys lost Kansas. You lost Texas. You couldn't even get South Carolina to vote for Lindsey Graham's sister widow. It's one thing to say that lots of couples have messy breakups. It's another thing to say that if you're OJ. Now-- AUDIENCE: Oh. That's where we draw the line, Michael.

7:18 Can anyone give me a sane, coherent explanation of why Trump lost? Or if not, can anyone give me the most insane explanation they can think of? I have tried to salvage Trump. I've not been sure. I invested so much. Maybe I was blind to it. I think he's the ultimate Democrat sleeper cell, and he works for them. He is a Democrat. And I'll admit it. I was wrong. What about a long game, though? 10 years of this to [BLEEP] us at the end? Oh, mm, yes. That's the good stuff. For more on President Trump's reaction to the midterms, let's go live to the White House with Senior White House Correspondent, Troy Iwata.

7:57 [CHEERS, APPLAUSE] Troy, Troy, what a devastating night for the Republicans. Yeah, sure was, Michael. Sure was. Hey, question. Are we still getting that $5,000? What, $5,000? Yeah, remember when Trump was like, everyone gets $5,000 if Republicans win. And everyone was like, oh, yay! And then a lot of people went and spent that money already. No, he only promised us the money if Republicans won, and they lost. Yeah, but I assumed it was like when your dad promised you ice cream if you get straight A's. And even when you didn't, he still takes you because he made a face like this.

8:42 Anyway, in this case, this ice cream is $5,000. And I really need it. Sorry, I don't know what to tell you. The Republicans lost. OK, well, not all of them. Some won. Yay! That's like $200. Did you spend $5,000? No, no. No, I just spent like $65,000. On what? On some really, really nice jeans. What? $65,000 on jeans? Yeah, Kosta, walk with me. Do you remember in 2001 at the American Music Awards when Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake showed up together in those matching Canadian tuxedos? You bought Justin's jeans?

9:27 No, no, no, I bought the jeans that he was wearing while he was standing next to Britney. This is so unfair. I can't lose those jeans. Look, forget about the money, Troy. Let's get back to analyzing the results. How is the President going to work with the Democrats? I mean, well, it's going to be tough. I mean, if he doesn't want to be a lame duck, he'll have to find some common ground with them. You know what? No, Democrats like health care. So maybe he can work with them on a plan to give me $5,000. For health care?

10:00 Who's talking about health care? You are. I'm talking about someone giving me $5,000. Troy, pay attention to what's happening. This flip could force real change in this country, in our relationships around the world. I mean, think about the conflict in Iran. What's the conflict? Does Iran want $5,000? No. Goddamn it. Dammit. Wow, today, [BLEEP] sucks. God, this is-- God, it's just one of those days where I wish someone would take me for ice cream after the show. You know what? Sure. I mean, let's get ice cream. OK, great.

10:34 Great, just give me $5,000. I'll go get it. Get the [BLEEP] out of here. Troy Iwata, everybody.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Midterm Blowout: Dems Batter GOP & Elon Musk Is Out $500 Million | The Daily Show"?

REPORTER 1 (Guest), REPORTER 3 (Guest), REPORTER 4 (Guest), REPORTER 5 (Guest), Troy Iwata (Guest), Michael Kosta (Guest), REPORTER 2 (Guest).

What is "Midterm Blowout: Dems Batter GOP & Elon Musk Is Out $500 Million | The Daily Show" about?

The piece analyzes the midterm election results, highlighting a sweeping Democratic victory across Congress, governorships, and several states, framed as a dramatic political realignment. It emphasizes the scale of the win, unexpected gains in traditionally Republican areas, and the broad impact on national politics.

What is mentioned in this The Daily Show episode?

32 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including The Daily Show, Michael Kosta, 2026 United States midterm elections, Donald Trump, Blue Wave, Troy Iwata. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Midterm Blowout: Dems Batter GOP & Elon Musk Is Out $500 Million | The Daily Show"?

The episode runs 11 min; the transcript is about 1,597 words in 18 timestamped sections.

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