Republicans ‘ended strong’
TRUMP KEEPS SENATE AND ‘ BLUE WAVE’ MINIMISED – STRATEGIST
By the time US President Donald Trump and his team tucked into hamburgers and hot dogs at a White House election watch party on Tuesday night, he was ready for the bad news.
His closest aides tried to focus him on the positives. Working on just a few hours’ sleep after a heavy final day of campaigning, Trump spent much of Tuesday on the phone, checking in with friends and advisors, talking to state and national Republican Party officials and White House aides to get a picture of what to expect.
What he heard from them was that Republicans would likely lose control of the House of Representatives, but hang on to control of the Senate, adding seats to its majority there.
So when word came in that the projections were broadly correct, it did not come as a shock.
The House loss meant Trump will face investigations into his tax returns, his businesses and his administration by Democratic lawmakers. His legislative agenda, including a vague proposal for a middle-class income tax cut, is likely stalled.
At his watch party, Trump was upbeat. In his only public comment on Tuesday night, he tweeted: “Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all!”
One advisor said, however, that he was probably not prepared for the onslaught of investigations the Democrats were likely to launch.
“I don’t think he fully comprehends what this means by giving the gavel to (Democratic House leader) Nancy Pelosi and her cronies,” the advisor said, asking to remain unidentified.
But there was some satisfaction among Trump and his aides that the losses were not as bad as had been projected by strategists who said a Democratic “blue wave” would take away 40 House seats. The party that controls the White House usually loses seats in the first congressional midterm elections two years after a presidential victory. President Barack Obama’s Democrats lost 63 seats in 2010.
“Trump should be feeling good. They finished strong. They picked up seats in the Senate and they minimised the ‘blue wave’ in the House. These mid-terms are historically tough for a White House,” said Republican strategist Scott Reed. –