Why my party lost in US Midterms – Trump

President Donald Trump in Congress

US President Donald Trump has identified a range of factors he believes have contributed to Republicans’ losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections.

During an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Mr Trump attributed the loss to his absence on the ballot, the Iran war, the coverage given to Democrats by Fox News and the ‘good job’ done by Democrats.

“I feel that I wasn’t on the ballot, and there was nothing that could be done about that,” he said. “If I was, we would have won.”

He had earlier expressed a similar view about not being on the ballot in an early Wednesday post on Truth Social.

“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. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he wrote.

However, Mr Trump had repeatedly urged his supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot,” with the results now showing his rally cry prior to the election failed.

Mr Trump also acknowledged that the Iran war played a role in his party’s midterm losses.

The president said voters were probably unwilling to accept the short-term consequences of petrol and diesel prices, largely caused by the Iran war he started.

“I think a part of it was Iran, but at the same time, people understood the importance of what I’ve done with Iran.”

The US president also praised Democrats for their midterm election victories, saying they had done a “good job.”

He said he was unlikely to change the cabinet.

“I think the Democrats did a good job. I really do. I think they did a good job. They fought hard,” Trump told Fox News on Wednesday morning, adding that there was a “mood in the air” and that “I shouldn’t feel guilty.” He also accused Fox News of giving prominent airtime to Democrats to reach out to Fox audience, who are largely Republicans.

The president also said he plans to work with the Democratic Party but noted he still has “total veto power.”

He had previously said he would be “Mr Veto” should Democrats win, meaning he would veto any bill passed by Congress that he disagrees with.

“I think they’re gonna want to work with me,” he said. “Otherwise I’d just veto everything, and they’re not gonna want that.”

Mr Trump’s comments came after the Democratic Party gained control of both houses of Congress. The latest projections put the Democrats as having 53 Senate seats and 226 seats in the House of Representatives.

Before the election, Republicans controlled the outgoing 119th Congress, with a 53-seat majority in the Senate. The Democrats had 45 seats, with two independents in their caucus.

In the House, the Democrats had won 226 seats to 131 by the Republicans, with many seats yet to be called as of early Wednesday.

Democratic candidates won Republican-held seats in North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Texas, South Carolina, and Kansas, where the president had personally chosen the nominees or tried to rally voters on their behalf with campaign stops.