Trump is very happy this morning with the GOP wins last night around the country and is celebrating on Twitter:
Received so many Congratulations from so many on our Big Victory last night, including from foreign nations (friends) that were waiting me out, and hoping, on Trade Deals. Now we can all get back to work and get things done!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
Those that worked with me in this incredible Midterm Election, embracing certain policies and principles, did very well. Those that did not, say goodbye! Yesterday was such a very Big Win, and all under the pressure of a Nasty and Hostile Media!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
To any of the pundits or talking heads that do not give us proper credit for this great Midterm Election, just remember two words - FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
He’s even quoting other people about him:
“There’s only been 5 times in the last 105 years that an incumbent President has won seats in the Senate in the off year election. Mr. Trump has magic about him. This guy has magic coming out of his ears. He is an astonishing vote getter & campaigner. The Republicans are.........
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
....unbelievably lucky to have him and I’m just awed at how well they’ve done. It’s all the Trump magic - Trump is the magic man. Incredible, he’s got the entire media against him, attacking him every day, and he pulls out these enormous wins.” Ben Stein, “The Capitalist Code”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
From where it looks now we will gain a few more seats in the Senate when all the totals are in – which should put the GOP at 55 seats. We won 52 seats in 2016, so that’s a net pickup of 3 seats should the results stand. The way Trump is celebrating, you’d think we just won 60 seats.
We LOST the House. Yes, it looks like Democrats will control it with a slim majority, but we still lost it.
The bottom line for me is that I don’t see much to be happy about right now. Even with 55 seats, Republicans still have to contend with Democrats in the Senate as we did for the first 2 years. And now, of course, Democrats in the House. The way I see it, nothing substantial will get done. No Obamacare repeal. No border wall (or whatever). No new tax breaks, etc.
And don’t expect Democrats in the House to concede just because Republicans control the Senate and the House. The Obama years are long gone and Democrats have the media in their hip pocket. They will fight like they are supposed to own the whole show.
And don’t get me started on the non-legislative committee crap that we are going to have to deal with in the House now. Trump is already trying to rein Democrats in…
If the Democrats think they are going to waste Taxpayer Money investigating us at the House level, then we will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of Classified Information, and much else, at the Senate level. Two can play that game!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
The bright side to all of this is that because we still control the Senate, we control nominations. So Trump can keep picking judges and we can keep voting them in. And should another Supreme Court seat become available, we got that too.
So yeah, I’m not despondent this morning. Don’t misunderstand, I am happy about picking up seats in the Senate and I’m very happy that we can limit any legislative damage Democrats want to add to what they’ve already done under Obama. It’s just that we took a big step backward in the House and that itself limits the good that Trump and Republicans can do.
So, cup half empty for me this morning.