US President Donald Trump sought to distance himself from mounting Republican losses following Tuesday’s midterm elections, declaring in his initial remarks that his party would have triumphed had his name been on the ballot.
“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” Trump wrote on social media.
Trump’s attempt to sidestep blame came as Republicans suffered stunning defeats across traditionally deep-red states and districts. Democrats succeeded in flipping Senate seats in Texas, South Carolina, Kansas, and Ohio, alongside additional victories and strong leads in North Carolina and Georgia.
Despite his active campaigning, having held rallies across 20 states in the final weeks while imploring voters to “pretend” he was running, the midterm results shaped up as a sharp rebuke of his second-term agenda, fueled by voter anxieties over the economy and the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Speaking to “The New York Times”, however, Trump stated that he is “absolutely willing to accept” the election results.
“We’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll, you know, look forward to working with them. We’ll probably work something out,” Trump said.
With the sweeping Democratic gains, the opposition party is poised to flip both chambers of Congress by wide margins, setting up a dramatically altered legislative landscape for the remainder of the presidential term.