Muslim women among those making history for Democrats in midterms
President Donald Trump yesterday told House Democrats that he would not co-operate with them if they launched investigations against him.
Mr Trump said that the public was tired of investigations and moves to have him investigated would lead to retribution from the Republican-controlled Senate.
“They can play that game but we can play it better,” he said. Mr Trump spoke of “questionable things” done by Democrats, including “leaks of classified information”.
He spoke after midterm results in which women, an LGBT candidate, two Muslim women, Latin Americans and Native Americans had been elected. The Muslim women were Democrats Rashida Tlain, of Michigan, and Ilhan Omar, of Minnesota.
Mr Trump criticised Republican candidates who apparently did not support him enough and lost congressional seats in Tuesday’s elections.
The president crowed that Republicans held control of the Senate and then took aim at members of the House, where the GOP lost.
Representative Mike Coffman in Colorado blamed his loss on resentment towards Mr Trump in his Denver district.
The president responded: “Too bad, Mike.”
On representative Mia Love’s loss Tuesday, Mr Trump said: “Mia Love gave me no love and she lost. Sorry about that, Mia.”
He said he was happy with most of his Cabinet, suggesting more changes may be coming and that he was “looking at different people for different positions”.
Unexpectedly, Mr Trump also announced that Vice President Mike Pence would be his running mate again in the 2020 presidential election, when he hopes for a second term in the White House.
“Mike, will you be my running mate?” Mr Trump asked Mr Pence. “The answer is yes. That was unexpected but I feel very fine.”
He highlighted Senate Republican gains but continued to threaten Democrats, who won back control of the House of Representatives and the power to investigate the president’s personal and professional conduct.
Mr Trump has long felt aggrieved by a special counsel’s investigation into Russian
interference in the 2016 presidential election.
He took to Twitter the morning after the split outcome for the Republicans to attempt to put Democrats on notice about their threats to investigate him and his government.
Democrats are also interested in Mr Trump’s tax returns, which he has refused to reveal.
“If the Democrats think they are going to waste taxpayer money investigating us at the House level, then we will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of classified information, and much else, at the Senate level,” he tweeted. “Two can play that game.”
Hours earlier, the president had hailed a “big victory” in the election and tweeted that “now we can all get back to work and get things done”.
Democrats took control of the House for the first time since 2010, shifting the balance of power in Washington where Republicans had dominated both chambers.
Democrats were on course to retake at least 27 seats from Republicans, with strong performances among suburban white women.
In the 100-member Senate, Republicans retained seats in the South, Midwest and West and ensured at least a 51-49 majority, equal to their current margin.
Representative Nancy Pelosi, who is likely to return as Speaker of the House, promised that the party would be a counterweight to Mr Trump.
“Today is more than about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about restoring the constitution’s checks and balances to the Trump administration,” she said.
The election was historic for different reasons. Rashida Tlaib became the first Arab-American woman elected to the House of Representatives. The congresswoman-elect for Michigan’s 13th district said she drew strength from being a “proud Palestinian-American and Muslim”.
Republicans in Arizona celebrated the Senate remaining in their hands. At the Hilton DoubleTree Resort, music blared from the hall and smiles were etched on faces. The story was now all about Washington.
“We are in a battle but Trump is very resilient,” GOP volunteer James Murr said. “We have the Senate, the Supreme Court and the White House. That’s a firewall.”
Democrats running for Senate seats received about eight million more votes than Republicans but the US political system means candidates in less populated states needed fewer votes to win.
Mr Trump praised candidates who embraced his policies and principles during the midterm election, saying they “did very well”.
But, in another tweet yesterday, he told those candidates who avoided him to “say goodbye”.