United States President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to accept the outcome of the country’s midterm elections and work with Democrats, as results indicated that the opposition party was making significant gains and could take control of both chambers of Congress.
Trump made the remarks on Tuesday night during a telephone interview with The New York Times while monitoring election results at the White House.
“We’ll, you know, look forward to working with them,” he said. “We’ll probably work something out.”
His comments came amid major setbacks for Republicans, with Democrats recording gains in several closely contested races and threatening the party’s control of Congress.
Trump attributed some of the Republican losses to his absence from the ballot, suggesting that the outcome might have been different if he had personally contested the election.
He also defended his decision to launch a war against Iran, describing it as a “very wise decision”.
The President maintained that he had no regrets about endorsing Republican candidates, including South Carolina Senator Darline Graham and Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton, both of whom lost their Senate bids.
Speaking shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Trump said he was following the results as the interview was taking place.
“I’m just looking at these results as I’m talking,” he said.
Reacting to Graham’s defeat, the President expressed surprise, saying, “I see that Darline lost. Wow, that’s amazing. How do you think Lindsey would have done if he ran?”
He was referring to Senator Lindsey Graham, who reportedly died in July.
As results continued to emerge, Democrats were on course to take control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, PUNCH Online reported on Wednesday.
A Democratic takeover of Congress would significantly shift the balance of political power in Washington, potentially exposing the Trump administration to greater congressional scrutiny.
It could also make it more difficult for the President to push through his legislative agenda during the remaining two years of his term, as Democrats would gain greater influence over congressional proceedings, investigations and legislative priorities.
