US Midterms: Trump accepts midterm results, pledges to work with Democrats

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 showed the opposition party heading towards control of both chambers of Congress.

Trump made the remarks on Tuesday night during a telephone interview with The New York Times, as he monitored election results at the White House.

“We’ll, you know, look forward to working with them,” he said. “We’ll probably work something out.”

The President’s comments came amid major Republican losses, with Democrats making significant gains in closely contested races and threatening Republican control of Congress.

Trump attributed his party’s poor performance partly to his absence from the ballot, suggesting that his participation could have changed the outcome.

He also defended his decision to launch a war against Iran, describing it as a “very wise decision”.

The President further said he had no regrets about endorsing Republican candidates, including South Carolina Senator Darline Graham and Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton, who both lost their Senate bids.

Speaking shortly before 10:30pm on Tuesday, Trump said he was following the election results during the interview.

“I’m just looking at these results as I’m talking,” he said.

Reacting to Graham’s defeat, he added: “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.

Democrats were on course to take control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate as results continued to emerge, PUNCH Online had reported on Wednesday.

A Democratic takeover of Congress would significantly alter the balance of  political power in Washington, potentially subjecting Trump’s administration to increased congressional scrutiny and making it more difficult for the President to advance his legislative agenda during the remaining two years of his term.