Washington: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed that the Republican Party would have secured a “landslide” victory in the midterm elections had he been on the ballot, as Democrats took control of the US Congress.
While saying that he would accept the election results, Trump was quick to shift the blame for the Republican Party’s historic setback to his fellow party members.
“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.
In another post, Trump indicated that he would take on the role of a political commentator and analyse the reasons behind the victories and defeats of candidates in the elections.
“I’m going to become a Political Pundit, both good and bad, on the reasons these Candidates won and lost! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he wrote.
Trump’s remarks came after the Republican Party suffered a major setback in the midterm elections, with Democrats taking control of Congress. Although he said he would accept the results, his comments suggested that he believed the outcome could have been different had he personally contested the election.
Earlier, Trump had warned that he would veto legislation if Democrats succeeded in taking control of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections. He also acknowledged that the US Constitution bars him from seeking a third presidential term, although he admitted that he would “love to run again”.
“I think we’re going to do great. But if we didn’t win, I veto everything. I’ll be vetoing, vetoing,” Trump told New York Post columnist Miranda Devine in an interview for the newspaper’s ‘Pod Force One’ podcast, released on Monday.
In a preview clip aired on Sunday, Trump had reiterated his position, saying, “I guess I’ll become Mr. Veto.” He suggested that after repeatedly blocking legislation for “a month or two”, Democrats would eventually approach him to negotiate an agreement.
He said that after a period of repeated vetoes, Democrats would “come over and you make a deal”, indicating that he intended to use his presidential veto powers as leverage in negotiations with the opposition if Republicans lost control of Congress.
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