By Stonix News Political Desk
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has offered rare praise to his Democratic rivals after they inflicted a historic defeat on his Republican Party in the midterm elections, conceding that they “fought hard” — before swiftly shifting blame to his own party and hinting at vetoes and retribution ahead.
In remarks to Fox News on Tuesday, the president acknowledged the scale of the Democrats’ victory, which saw them seize control of both the House and Senate.
“I think the Democrats did a good job. I really do. I think they did a good job. They fought hard,” Mr Trump said, adding that there was a “mood in the air” and that “I shouldn’t feel guilty.”
The conciliatory tone was short-lived. In a post on his Truth Social platform, the 80-year-old insisted the Republicans would have won “IN A LANDSLIDE” had he been on the ballot — despite having spent much of the campaign telling supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot”.
He later told The New York Times that he was “absolutely willing to accept those results” and would “work with the Democrats”, only to follow up with a photograph of his trademark red MAGA baseball cap and a single word: “VETO.”
Defiant Mood in the White House
According to a White House official, the atmosphere in the East Room — where the president and senior cabinet members watched the results unfold — was “defiant”. Staff were said to have dined on takeaway from The Cheesecake Factory, a pointed jibe at former president Barack Obama, who once remarked that Mr Trump’s renovations made the White House look “like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory”.
The official also questioned the calibre of Republican candidates, many of whom the president had endorsed and campaigned for across the country.
“Candidate quality matters, and President Trump did a better job promoting many of the candidates on the ballot than the candidates did themselves,” the official said.
Mr Trump, for his part, signalled he intended to “become a political pundit” and apportion blame, starting with Greg Abbott, the Texas governor unseated by Democrat Gina Hinojosa. The president claimed Mr Abbott would not have lost had he not become a “RINO” — a Republican In Name Only.
Iran War ‘Played a Part’
The president acknowledged that the conflict with Iran had influenced voters, telling Fox News: “I think a part of it was Iran, but at the same time, people understood the importance of what I’ve done with Iran.”
There is now widespread speculation that Mr Trump will resume large-scale military action against Tehran, doubling down on a war that voters appear to have roundly rejected.
“Anyone who voted Democrat today is going to have a serious case of buyer’s remorse when gas prices come down quickly when the Iran conflict is solved, but they’re still stuck with a list of liberal extremist Democrats,” the White House official warned.
Warning to the ‘Radical Left’
With Democrats now controlling both chambers of Congress, Mr Trump faces the final two years of his second term as a lame-duck president. The White House, however, indicated he would not go quietly.
“Regardless of how today plays out, President Trump’s resolve to stop the Radical Left is only going to become stronger,” the official said. “Buckle up.”
Earlier in the evening, before the first results had even been declared, the president had appeared agitated, firing off a string of posts attacking Fox News’s coverage and claiming its ratings were “way down, not because of me, but because they are AGAINST me!”
The results mark a dramatic reversal for the Republicans, with voters handing the Democrats control of Congress in what analysts are calling a “new era” in American politics.
