US President Donald Trump had rare praise for rival Democrats Tuesday after their stunning US midterm elections victory and admitted the Iran war may have played a part in the defeat of his Republican Party. But the 80-year-old refused to take any personal responsibility for the result that upends the final two years of his presidency, instead trying to shift the blame to his fellow Republicans. "Well, I say this: congratulations to the Democrats.
They did a good job," Trump said in a telephone interview with FOX News Democracy 26. "They've been looking for this one for 11 years, and they finally got it. But I don't view it as a hit on me." The complimentary comments were highly unusual for Trump, who spent much of the midterms campaign branding Democrats as everything from communiststo Islamists.
Read moreUS democracy, Trump fatigue, cost of living are top issues with voters, AP survey finds Trump also reiterated that, unlike his 2020 presidential election loss, he accepted the vote results and was ready to work with Democrats now that they will control Congress. At the same time, Trump warned he was ready to use his executive power to veto any Democratic legislation he felt like. "They can send over, you know, 50 different great bills that they're all excited about, and I send them back with a nice stamp – 'veto.'" With polls showing the Iran war and resulting rise in oil prices was vastly unpopular with voters, Trump also acknowledged that the stalled conflict had contributed to the result.
"I think a part of it was Iran, but at the same time, people understood the importance of what I've done with Iran," Trump told Fox. Yet Trump's conciliatory tone did not extend to his own party. Time and again on the campaign trail the 80-year-old told Republicans to "pretend I'm on the ballot".
But on Tuesday he insisted that the opposite was the problem. "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump posted later that he was going to "become a political pundit" and give the reasons why Republicans lost. First in his crosshairs was Greg Abbott, the loyal Texas governor unseated by Democrat Gina Hinojosa. Trump said that if Abbott hadn't become a "RINO" (Republican In Name Only) "he wouldn't have lost".
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