Democrats claim control of the US Senate

As the House and Senate convened for Democratic proceedings on Tuesday, a prevailing sentiment emerged: voters had dismissed President Donald Trump’s tenure, and he would confront a significantly altered political landscape for the duration of his remaining term. Nonetheless, Trump held a divergent view. "But I don’t view it as a hit on me," Trump disclosed to Fox News during a live phone conversation.

"Our economy has witnessed unparalleled growth over the past two years, and we’ve accomplished numerous significant milestones." The resounding outcomes across various regions of America were not primarily attributable to the Iran war he had initiated eight months prior, according to Trump. He attributed the issue to "only a piece" of the situation.

Regarding the tariffs that had inflated prices or his preoccupation with subjects distant from voters’ concerns, Trump maintained that these were also not the primary culprits. The election results were, he later acknowledged to Fox, "a little surprise." The inexorable forces of history seemed to have conspired against him, a notion Trump had frequently proclaimed.

He failed to mention that he had personally chosen many of the candidates. "I thought they’d do better," he confided to Fox, attributing the losses to a prevailing "mood in the air." Trump reiterated on Tuesday night that his policy agenda would persist unabated, notwithstanding the drastically transformed political conditions in Washington.

The electoral outcomes marked the culmination of a grueling campaign season for Trump, who had devoted the majority of the preceding month traversing red states with the objective of motivating supporters to "pretend I’m on the ballot." Despite the campaign's unanticipated results, Trump blamed neither himself nor his administration but rather the electorate.

"They just didn’t inspire the people to get out and vote," he asserted to Fox. "And I wasn’t on the ballot. If I was on the ballot, they would have gotten out." Numerous candidates who lost on Tuesday, including Darline Graham in South Carolina, Ken Paxton in Texas, Michael Whatley in North Carolina, and Mike Collins in Georgia, had been handpicked by Trump, in certain instances, despite the opposition of other Republicans.

He did not disclose this while lamenting the candidates' inability to convert his backing into votes. "I had no choice," Trump stated regarding the endorsement of Ken Paxton, the candidate plagued by scandals whom he backed over incumbent Senator John Cornyn. "When it wasn’t fashionable, he kissed my ass." The extent to which Trump desired to assign blame on his party's candidates fluctuated minute by minute.

"I’m going to become a Political Pundit, both good and bad, on the reasons these Candidates won and lost!" he posted urgently on Truth Social, barely before midnight. His initial point of criticism was Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the Republican incumbent who lost re-election to Democrat Gina Hinojosa. Trump labeled him a "Republican in name only" and declared, "He returned to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!"

However, in a phone interview with Politico around the same time, Trump insisted he was not interested in assigning blame. "I don’t want to blame anybody," he stated. "I just want to say, you know, it was a very interesting period of time. I watched with great interest, learned from it." Trump displayed a more conciliatory attitude towards Democrats, whom he would now find indispensable if he sought to advance legislation through Congress.

He echoed similar pledges following Republicans' loss in the House during the 2018 midterms, but the assurances of bipartisanship did not materialize. "You know, I have a lot of friends that are Democrats. Believe it or not, I’ve already spoken to some of them," he remarked, without revealing their identities. He spoke vaguely of striving to identify areas of compromise, but firmly maintained that he harbored no regrets over the issue that Republicans most frequently blamed for their setbacks—the war in Iran.

"I don’t think about it," Trump told the Wall Street Journal when questioned about any regrets regarding the war. "I would have done it again."