Chinese state media see antics in the congressional election, European commentary a verdict on Trump

Shortly before the congressional election, media in China, Russia and Europe interpret the same election differently. Chinese state media see it as a sign of a divided political system. European commentary sees above all a verdict on President Trump. The Russian state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta portrays Trump personally as weakened.

China. The state agency Xinhua headlines a report by its correspondent Gao Shan in Los Angeles with the word “antics”. The text strings together disputes from the campaign: a TV ad in Ohio, the candidate with the same name in Alaska, the expensive campaign in Texas with spending of more than 500 million dollars and a dispute over military decorations in Nevada. The election thus becomes a mirror of the “political polarization and social division” of the US. Substance barely features (Xinhua via China Daily, 2 November 2026, 0:27 CET).

Russia. The state-owned Rossiyskaya Gazeta runs the headline “Trump has started to tire”. Author Maxim Makarychev points to more than 50.5 million early votes cast, almost 5 million more than in 2022. Among them, he writes, are 10.7 million registered Democrats and 7.8 million registered Republicans. As reasons for the headwind he cites prices for food and gasoline, the war with Iran and concerns about corruption. Ukraine and Russia do not appear in the text (Rossiyskaya Gazeta, 1 November 2026, 5:20 CET).

Germany. taz editor-in-chief Barbara Junge writes in an essay that the Democrats' chances rest less on their own strength than on the weakness of the Republicans. Trump has “become more of a burden than a strength for his party”. In her assessment, he has not kept his promises on tariffs, inflation and an end to the wars (taz, 1 November 2026, 20:12).

Vatican. At Vatican News, Francesco Citterich calls the election a “political referendum” on the relationship between the domestic and foreign policy of the Trump administration. The war with Iran, the situation in Ukraine and the tensions with Europe make it significant beyond the US, he writes. Moscow and Beijing are also following the election closely. In his assessment, a defeat would limit Trump's room for maneuver, but would not automatically be a rejection of him (Vatican News, 1 November 2026, 9:30).

The contrast lies in the perspective: Xinhua describes the system, the European texts the person Trump and the consequences for other countries. All texts are the authors' assessments, not government statements. Xinhua and Rossiyskaya Gazeta are state media. The forecasts for both chambers are on the Senate and House of Representatives pages.