Trump won’t accept blame for loss

FACING the prospect of bruising electoral defeat in congressional elections, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he wouldn’t accept the blame if his party lost control of the House next month, arguing his campaigning and endorsements had helped Republican candidates.

In an interview three weeks before Election Day, Trump told The Associated Press he sensed voter enthusiasm rivalling 2016 and expressed cautious optimism that his most loyal supporters would vote even when he was not on the ballot. He dismissed suggestions that he might take responsibility, as his predecessor did, for mid-term losses or view the outcome as a referendum on his presidency.

“No, I think I’m helping people,” Trump said. “I don’t believe anybody’s ever had this kind of an impact.”

Trump spoke on a range of subjects, defending Saudi Arabia from growing condemnation over the case of a missing journalist, accusing his long-time attorney Michael Cohen of lying under oath and flashing defiance when asked about the insult – “Horseface” – he hurled at Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who accuses him of lying about an affair.

The interview in the Oval Office came as Trump’s administration was being urged to pressure Saudi Arabia to account for the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Instead, Trump offered a defence for the US ally, warning against a rush to judgment, as happened with his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault.

Weeks away from the mid-terms, Democrats are hopeful about their chances to recapture the House, while Republicans are confident they can hold control of the Senate.