Celebrities React to Midterm Results: Bette Midler Overjoyed, Elon Musk Jokes as Conservatives Blame Iran War

Celebrities and prominent media figures across the political spectrum weighed in after Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections, with entertainers who back Democrats celebrating online while conservative commentators offered blunt assessments of what went wrong for Republicans.

Here is a look at what 10 well-known figures said, five who cheered the Democratic gains and five on the right who reacted to the Republican losses.

Celebrating Democratic gains

Henry Winkler

The "Happy Days" star kept it short. Responding to a post on X asking followers how they were feeling, Winkler wrote, "Dreams do come true."

Mandy Moore

The "This Is Us" actor tracked the returns closely on social media. Moore followed the count on Instagram Stories, writing, "Texas, this keeps getting better and better..." In another post, she called voting rights activist Stacey Abrams a hero who had opened the door for the night's results.

Texas was among the night's most closely watched states. CBS News projected Democrat James Talarico won the Texas Senate race, a seat Democrats had not won since 1988.

Bette Midler

The singer and actor, a longtime Trump critic, struck an exuberant tone. Midler wrote online, "I am OVERJOYED!" and told voters they had saved their beloved country.

John Leguizamo

The Emmy-winning actor celebrated with a video. Leguizamo posted an energetic Instagram video marking the political shift, saying, "You did it! This is redemption time," as he listed key moments and firsts from election night.

Jimmy Kimmel

The ABC late-night host was the first in his field to react on air. "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" reportedly taped later than usual Tuesday to respond to early returns, and Kimmel aimed a series of jokes at President Donald Trump, with whom he has long feuded. Kimmel quipped that Trump spent the day watching Fox News coverage "trying to give himself an insurrection."

Other stars also joined in. Actors Alyssa Milano, Molly Ringwald and talk-show host Stephen Colbert also posted about the results.

Conservative voices react

Nikki Haley

The former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, now an NBC News political contributor, urged fellow Republicans to take stock rather than lash out. Speaking on NBC's "Today," Haley said "this is not the time to whine, complain, or point fingers." She argued Republicans had not acted like fiscal conservatives and said conservatives win when they follow their policies.

Elon Musk

The billionaire businessman and former Trump administration adviser responded with humor. In his first public comments after Democrats won both chambers, Musk wrote on X: "Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now."

Musk, who became the largest individual political spender this year after contributing a quarter-billion dollars, joked in another post, "Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time."

Buck Sexton

The conservative radio host offered one of the night's most candid assessments. "Sometimes you get your a-- kicked, and deserve it," Sexton wrote on X, before listing what he saw as Republican missteps, including bad messaging, poor candidates, high prices and a war he said had not gone as promised. He added that the party would carry on but should learn lessons from the night.

Matt Walsh

The Daily Wire commentator pinned the losses largely on the administration's choices. According to Fox News, Walsh argued that Trump launched an unpopular war, that gas and grocery prices were too high and that the president had abandoned his "America First" message, calling the explanation simple.

Erick Erickson

The conservative radio host said the problems went well beyond the Iran war and fuel costs. Erickson, as reported by Fox News, cited a long list of grievances, including corruption, tariffs, aggressive deportations and the White House ballroom project.

Trump's own view

The president, a former reality television star himself, offered a different take. "I don't like to consider it a defeat for me, I wasn't on the ballot," Trump said, according to an NBC report.

He also gave Democrats credit for their campaign. Trump noted that a sitting president's party almost always loses ground in a midterm election.

A divided reaction

The contrasting responses reflect a broader debate over what the results mean. Democrats and their supporters framed the night as a turning point, while conservative critics largely pointed to specific issues and candidates.

Not everyone on the right had expected a Democratic wave. Days before the election, musician Kid Rock pushed back on Bill Maher's prediction of a Republican "thumping," telling the HBO host, "I don't trust the polls."

Polling suggests voters themselves were not fully enthusiastic about either party. The AP Voter Poll found only about half of voters had a favorable view of the Democratic Party, compared with about 4 in 10 who viewed the GOP positively.

Final results remain unofficial in several states as counting continues.