Donald Trump Declares Victory in Midterm Elections

The President of the United States stated one day after the midterm elections that this election "challenged history" and assessed the Republican victory in the Senate as significant while deeming their loss in the House of Representatives as unimportant. Donald Trump, on Wednesday, November 7, delivered a speech followed by a question-and-answer session with reporters that was broadcast live on television networks, stating: "Yesterday was a big day, an extraordinary day." He added: "And last night... the Republican Party challenged history by expanding its majority in the Senate, while significantly outperforming expectations in the House of Representatives." The Republican Party lost control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections held on Tuesday but managed to maintain its majority in the Senate. The Democrats have so far secured 222 seats in the House, while Republicans hold 199 seats. In the Senate, Republicans have 51 seats and Democrats have 46, with the fate of three Senate seats still undecided. According to the Associated Press, the Democrats will take responsibility for the House committees, which can investigate Trump’s tax payments, potential conflicts of interest, and the connections between his campaign and Russia. In another part of his speech, the U.S. President criticized what he called the "hostile media coverage" of himself and Republicans during the election, stating that this type of coverage was "a record." Mr. Trump pointed to the Democratic Party, saying: "Widespread campaigns stopped the blue wave that they (the media) were talking about." He stated: "Voters clearly punished Senate Democrats for their handling of the Kavanaugh question-and-answer session." Brett Kavanaugh was the nominee put forward by the U.S. President for the Supreme Court, who was accused of sexual assault. Ultimately, after much controversy, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of him. The President of the United States stated that Republicans and Democrats can "work together" after the midterm elections. He also praised Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House and the likely future head of this legislative body, saying she "deserves" to hold this position. Mr. Trump, referring to some reports about the refusal of some Democratic representatives to support Ms. Pelosi's leadership, said: "If they make it hard for her, maybe a few Republican representatives will vote in her favor. She deserves this great honor!" Trump urged Democrats to work with Republicans to solve America's problems. He stated: "I hope that next year we can work together to continue to meet the needs of the American people, including on economic growth, infrastructure, trade, and lowering prescription drug costs." Mr. Trump also threatened that if Democrats, using their majority in the House, sought to launch investigations against him, they would face government retaliation. During his press conference with several reporters, including a CNN reporter, Trump had a verbal altercation. Trump once again accused the media of taking an aggressive approach and called the CNN reporter an enemy of the people. The CNN reporter had questioned Trump about his campaign ads against immigrants. Critics of Donald Trump, including the CNN reporter, have described the use of "immigrant attacks" regarding the caravan of Latin American migrants as stoking the flames of "xenophobia." In another part of his remarks, the U.S. President referred to the sanctions imposed against Iran, calling them "the toughest sanctions in history." He continued by saying that he granted temporary exemptions to several countries regarding oil purchases from Iran to keep global oil prices low. Mr. Trump described the oil market as "very fragile" and stated: "I do not want to raise oil prices to one hundred dollars per barrel." He also reiterated his criticism of OPEC, calling it a "monopolistic" organization in the oil sector. Eight countries, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, Greece, and Taiwan, have been temporarily exempted from Iranian oil sanctions. The U.S. President also stated that he is consulting with the U.S. Congress, Riyadh, and Ankara regarding the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Arabia, to resolve the matter. Mr. Trump said: "By next week, I will have a much stronger position on this issue." Several members of the U.S. Congress have called for punishment against Saudi Arabia for the murder of Mr. Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Riyadh claims that this murder was the work of "rogue elements" and has announced the arrest of 18 people on this charge. Ankara has called for the trial of these individuals on Turkish soil, but Saudi Arabia has rejected this request.