Trump warns House Dems against a "warlike" attitude in boastful and bitter talk

White House

The president said on Wednesday that he was ready to work with the Democrats to take control of the House. He also threatened them.

President Donald Trump was also triumphant, resentful, conciliatory and combative at the press conference after Wednesday's election, even going beyond his usual standards.

Rather than admit that a Democratic House could cost him dearly, Trump presented himself as the winner of the night before.

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"I thought it was an almost total victory," Trump told the press, claiming that his party had "defied history" by winning Senate seats.

And amid the mockery of the GOP candidates who lost after refusing to kiss him on the trunk and unusual exchanges with reporters, the president sought to frame the divided government's policy to his advantage, establishing the Democrats as an obstructionist party motivated by zeal to bring. bottom of his presidency.

In sprawling remarks that lasted more than an hour, Trump said he was ready to work with congressional Democrats "to continue delivering results to the American people," citing the infrastructure , trade, immigration and the economy as possible areas of cooperation. "[T]There could be a "nice bipartite situation," insisted Trump.

Trump even approved Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) As Speaker of the House, a few hours after tweeting to urge Republicans to support her if she faced an internal Democrat challenge.
"Now we have a much easier path because the Democrats will present us with a plan for infrastructure, a plan for health care, and we will negotiate," said Trump.

But he quickly warned that cooperation would be impossible if House Democrats sought to paralyze the White House with a blitz of polls and congressional assignments.

"If they do so, then it's just a wartime posture," he said, recalling the remarkable warning that he had launched for the first time on Twitter earlier. in the day, according to which he could investigate the Democrats themselves.

Trump insisted that policy cooperation could not be done "simultaneously" with thorough investigations. "Someone says," Oh, you can do both of them. "No, you can not," he says. "Because they do that, we do not do the other, just for you to understand. We will not do it. "

The message seemed to provide insight into the White House's plans to use the Democrats as a convenient roadmap for Trump as he positions himself for his re-election campaign in 2020.

A former White House staff member laughed hysterically Wednesday morning when he was questioned about Trump's pro-Pelosi commentary, suggesting that his calls to bipartisanship were fake.

"He is totally lagging behind," said this person, adding that Mr. Trump was "on the war footing" now that the night of the elections has passed and that he is facing the reality of "the day. a majority in the House of Democrats "who was elected solely to reduce his presidency.
Trump, who said the mid-term elections were a referendum on his own presidency, refused to acknowledge that he had suffered losses Tuesday night and showed no sign of reflection on the part of predecessors who had suffered mid-term losses.

Trump has sent his key contributors to morning shows to boast of having "made history" because of his marathon campaign for GOP candidates.

Trump's war foot also extended to his Republican compatriots and the media on Wednesday.

He named and shamed the GOP House candidates who refused to kiss him, sending a not-so-subtle warning that other Republicans who would cross him would suffer consequences, even by saying insolently that he did not disliked them. against them.

"Mia Love, I saw Mia Love, and she called me all the time to help her deal with a hostage situation in Venezuela," said the president, saying reference to the recent release of Utahn Josh Holt. "But Mia Love did not give me love, and she lost." "Sorry, Mia."

The president also called several other Republicans who came down after refusing to make it clear that they had supported it: Republicans Carlos Curbelo of Florida, Mike Coffman of Colorado, Barbara Comstock of Virginia, Peter Roskam of the United States. Illinois, Erik Paulsen of Minnesota, Bob Hugin of New Jersey and John Faso of New York were also named.

Trump is engaged in a more direct confrontation with the media, arguing with CNN correspondent at the White House, Jim Acosta, during the press conference, calling him "a rude and terrible person" after the news. having questioned about the investigation of the special advocate Robert Mueller.

"You are a very rude person," Trump told Acosta, who had discussed with the president. "The way you treat Sarah Huckabee is horrible, and the way you treat others is horrible – you should not treat people this way."

While Acosta was trying to ask additional questions, a White House assistant tried to snatch the microphone away and a tense situation ensued.

"I'll tell you what, CNN should be ashamed to see you working for them," Trump told Acosta.

A former White House official said Trump supporters would rejoice in the clash between Trump and Acosta. "It was great," said the former manager.

Trump's intense performance took place after the Democrats overturned 28 seats in the House – enough to regain control of it – on Wednesday morning, with several wins in the double-digit Trump districts in 2016. They also beat Republican Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin. and propelled Democrat Gretchen Whitmer to a governorship victory in Michigan. The two states have played a crucial role in Trump's presidency, but he is on the verge of becoming a major challenge as he charts his path to represent himself.

Despite their losses, White House officials said the president was happier than disappointed by Tuesday's results, noting that Republicans seemed poised to win between two and five seats in the Senate. Over the past century, few outgoing presidents have expanded the majority in their party's Senate at elections held outside of the year – which Trump happily pointed out, while the evening's results have started Tuesday night.

"Things have gone better than expected," a senior White House official told POLITICO, noting that "Trump's impact on many of these states and Senate races was essential."

"The night has been long," said one close to the 2020 Trump campaign, "but we have not bled as we could have done."

House Dems Ready to Face TrumpIn the race screenings on Tuesday night, Trump has spent most of his time watching the White House elections, his friends, family, and his advisors, about how it should address the new political landscape. The president, whose ideological malleability is not a secret for Republicans and that the base has welcomed, analyzed various scenarios of agreement, according to a person in the room.

"He probably asked 25 people what he should say. The question is always whether he listens, "said the former White House employee.

Trump's relatives say that because he loves gambling and that he is not attached to a single belief system, he is likely to seek bipartisan legislative solutions to deal with such problems. that illegal immigration, soaring pharmaceutical costs and the disastrous infrastructure of America.

The question is how long does this desire last and whether the Democrats are willing to play ball.

"We saw that during his first two years, the president had offered olive logs on topics such as immigration and infrastructure, often to the chagrin of Republican leaders," said the president. former White House advisor, Marc Lotter, who accused the Democrats of the President's offers.

"The dirty little secret of the Democratic majority of the House is that they have not been elected by the democratic base to work with Trump on a bipartisan basis."

Conversely, a decent number of Democrats who will join the Congress as freshmen in recent months have for months been proclaimed centrist and eager to breathe new leadership into the ranks of the party and the party. avoid traffic jams For example, Democrat Anthony Brindisi, a Member of Parliament who started his campaign with an "A" from the National Rifle Association, beat incumbent Republican Claudia Tenney in the 22nd Congressional District of New York, which Trump won by 20 percentage points in 2016. Very early in his campaign, Brindisi said that he would not support Pelosi for a new term as speaker when he won the victory.

If Trump really wants to go to the other side of the hall, these are the kinds of people who would be most likely to respond.

"They had a lot of moderate candidates who won just because they opposed Pelosi, and I think a lot of these members are going to have a big influence on the agenda of the Democrats," he said. said a former staff member of the White House.

Andrew Restuccia contributed to this report.