NBC News’s Decision Desk estimated the party would finish with a majority of roughly 53 seats. Reports differed on the Senate, with some saying control had not yet been projected, so the final balance of power in Congress may take more time to settle.

The jokes arrived against a backdrop in which memes had been a part of the campaign itself. For months, Trump and the White House put out a heavy stream of memes and AI-generated images, many showing the president as all-powerful.

The Associated Press reported that the administration had defended them as humour and called critics humourless. A member of the White House communications team posted earlier that “the memes will continue.”

Not everyone saw them as a strong strategy.

Republican strategist Kevin Madden said the posts could energise Trump’s core supporters, but he warned that voters deciding control of Congress would not be won over with memes.

He said those voters were driven mainly by the cost of living. Andrew Bates, who served as a deputy press secretary under President Joe Biden, said the memes looked like a way of avoiding the work of governing.

Polling had shown Trump facing a tough road.

A July AP-NORC survey found that 33 per cent of US adults approved of his handling of the presidency, and only 15 per cent approved strongly.

The president also made a promise of his own just before voting day. He said that if Democrats won Congress, he would become “Mr. Veto” and use his veto power to block their bills.

A veto can be overridden only if two-thirds of both chambers vote against it, a bar that is hard to reach.