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After Loss of House, Trump Makes Overture to Democrats, Coupled With Threats Trump Vows ‘Warlike Posture’ if Democrats Investigate Him
(about 5 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump offered on Wednesday to work across party lines with Democrats who won control of the House in the midterm elections, but threatened to adopt a “warlike posture” and retaliate if they use their newfound power to investigate his financial and political dealings. WASHINGTON — President Trump threatened on Wednesday to adopt a “warlike posture” against Democrats if they use their newly-won control of the House to investigate his financial and political dealings, drawing a line at the start of a new era of divided government.
In a postelection news conference that veered from conciliation to confrontation, Mr. Trump framed the results of the vote on his own terms, calling it “a great victory” because Republicans bolstered their majority in the Senate and insisting that he is almost happier that Democrats won the House because it will be easier to cut bipartisan deals. The president began a postelection news conference with an offer to work across party lines, but his conciliatory tone quickly turned contentious. And barely an hour later, he announced the firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions in defiance of Democrats who saw an effort to impede the Russia investigation.
“There are many things we can get along on,” Mr. Trump said, citing health care, pharmaceutical drug prices, the environment and infrastructure. “I would like to see bipartisanship. I would like to see unity. Maybe not on everything, but I think we have a very good chance of seeing that.” House Democrats also made the traditional nod to bipartisanship after their victory in Tuesday’s midterm elections even as they emphasized that they would scrutinize everything from Mr. Trump’s taxes to his campaign’s ties to Russia in 2016. But after Mr. Sessions was fired, the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said the decision would be investigated once Democrats took over in January.
[See the results for the House of Representatives, the Senate and governors’ races, and read our analysis.]
Yet even as he praised Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House minority leader, and endorsed her bid to regain the speakership, he said he would fight fire with fire if Democrats followed through on their vows to use the subpoena power that will come with being in the majority to demand the release of his tax returns and reopen the chamber’s investigation into any interactions between Mr. Trump’s campaign and Russia during the 2016 election.
“They can play that game, but we can play better because we have a thing called the United States Senate and a lot of questionable things were done between leaks of classified information and many other elements that should not have taken place,” he said.
Aggressive oversight by the Democrats, Mr. Trump added, would undercut any chance of bipartisan compromises. “If that happens, then we’re going to do the same thing and government comes to a halt and I’m going to blame them,” he said.
Ms. Pelosi said she hoped this would be a “new era” and noted that she worked productively with President George W. Bush when Democrats held the House during his last two years in office.
“The fact is we’d like to work together so legislation would be bipartisan,” she said. But Ms. Pelosi said Democrats would not curb their aspirations in the interest of compromise. “We’re not going for the lowest common denominator,” she said. “We’re going for the boldest common denominator.”
While he has presented himself as a natural negotiator from his time in real estate, Mr. Trump has made almost no deals with opposition Democrats since taking office. Mr. Trump had one brief moment of comity with Ms. Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, in his first two years when they agreed to a short-term spending deal, but it quickly evaporated amid disagreement over immigration.
One obvious point of contention that will surely arise between the two sides will be the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election and obstruction of justice. During his session with reporters, Mr. Trump once again insisted that he had the right to order an end to the investigation.
“I could’ve ended it anytime I wanted,” he said. “I didn’t. There was no collusion. There was no anything.” But he did not rule it out. “It should end because it’s very bad for our country,” he said.
The president said there would be changes to his staff and cabinet after the election, but he would not detail them yet. He ducked a question about Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who then delivered his resignation at the president’s request a little more than an hour after the news conference.
Left unclear was the fate of Mr. Sessions’s deputy, Rod J. Rosenstein, who oversees the Russia investigation.
[Read the latest on Jeff Sessions’s resignation.][Read the latest on Jeff Sessions’s resignation.]
Mr. Trump was the fourth president in a row to endure a major midterm election defeat. Democrats picked up at least 26 seats in the House, taking the majority, and claimed seven additional governorships in key states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Kansas where Mr. Trump won two years ago and that will be crucial to his chances of securing a second term in 2020. The instant exchange of fire indicated that there may be no lull in the conflict that has cleaved Washington during the Trump era and, if anything, it may escalate beyond what the last two years have seen. Once in control of all the levers of power in the capital, the president and his party now face the prospect of an opposition House armed with subpoena power and stocked by Democrats who won office on the promise of imposing a check on him.
But he chose to focus instead on the net gain of two Republican seats in the Senate so far and argued that his losses were not as bad as President Barack Obama’s were in 2010. And he blamed Republican losses on lawmakers who distanced themselves from him rather than embracing him. Democrats picked up at least 27 seats in the House on Tuesday, with 17 still undecided, and claimed seven additional governorships in places like Wisconsin, Michigan and Kansas, states that Mr. Trump won two years ago and will be crucial to his chances of re-election in 2020.
“Didn’t want the embrace,” he said repeatedly, naming one Republican after another who lost. But he claimed a “great victory” because Republicans held onto the Senate and even knocked off Democratic incumbents in Indiana, North Dakota and Missouri, while losing only one of their own seats in Nevada. If they hold on to their current leads, Republicans will increase their majority to 54 seats from 51, giving them more maneuvering room as they confirm judges and other appointments by Mr. Trump.
The news conference, only his third formal solo session with reporters at the White House since he took office 22 months ago, showcased his toxic relationship with the news media. He complained repeatedly that he had been treated unfairly and engaged in several heated exchanges with reporters who questioned him. Although the balance of power in Congress was no longer in doubt, some key contests remained in flux. In Florida, Senator Bill Nelson, the Democrat, trailing by more than 30,000 votes, called for a recount, an idea dismissed as “sad” by his Republican opponent, Gov. Rick Scott. In Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema, the Democrat, trailed Martha McSally, the Republican, by more than 15,000 votes in a race.
“You’re a very rude person,” he told a CNN reporter who persisted in questioning him after the president was ready to move on. In Georgia, Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who is trying to become the nation’s first black female governor, had not conceded her race against Brian Kemp, the Republican, in a race shadowed by concerns over voter suppression.
“Well, I’m not a big fan of yours either,” Mr. Trump told an NBC reporter who stuck up for his CNN colleague. Democrats did find good news in Montana, where Senator Jon Tester narrowly won re-election against Matt Rosendale, the Republican challenger backed by Mr. Trump in repeated rallies late in the campaign.
He snapped at a third reporter who tried to ask a question. “Sit down,” he said. “I didn’t call on you.” At his news conference, Mr. Trump seemed to be trying to adjust to the new reality in Washington. “I would like to see bipartisanship. I’d like to see unity,” he said. But he said he would not tolerate investigations and would use allies in the Senate to open inquiries against Democrats in response: “If that happens, then we’re going to do the same thing, and government comes to a halt. And I would blame them.”
When a fourth reporter, who is African-American, asked if his divisive messaging during the campaign had emboldened white supremacists, he lashed out. “That’s a racist question,” he said, jabbing a finger at her. Mr. Trump was the fourth president in a row to endure a major midterm election defeat. Mr. Trump’s tone, however, was strikingly different from that of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, who all expressed degrees of humility after major midterm losses in 1994, 2006 and 2010. Mr. Bush called his setback a “thumpin,’” and Mr. Obama described his as a “shellacking,” but Mr. Trump maintained that he had nothing to regret.
Mr. Trump’s tone was strikingly different from that of his most recent predecessors. Bill Clinton, Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama all expressed humility after major midterm losses in 1994, 2006 and 2010 — Mr. Bush called his setback a “thumpin,’” and Mr. Obama described his as a “shellacking” — but Mr. Trump maintained that he had nothing to regret. He lost fewer seats in the House than Mr. Obama did and unlike his predecessor picked up Senate seats, he noted. The lesson he said he took from the election was validation. “I think people like me,” the president said. “I think people like the job I’m doing, frankly.”
The president had every reason to feel good about the results in the Senate, where Republicans knocked off Democratic incumbents in Indiana, North Dakota and Missouri, and were leading in Florida, while losing only one of their own seats in Nevada. If they hold on to their current leads, Republicans will increase their majority in the upper chamber to 54 seats from 51, giving them far more maneuvering room as they confirm judges and other appointments by Mr. Trump. The candidates he helped ended up winning, he said, and those who lost went down because they distanced themselves from him. “Mia Love gave me no love,” Mr. Trump said of a Republican congresswoman from Utah. “And she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia.”
But the loss of the House was a major blow to the president, whose party until now controlled all the levers of power in Washington and still had trouble passing some of his top legislative priorities other than tax cuts. He singled out other Republicans who lost because, he said, they did not embrace him.
The turnover in the House foreshadowed a dramatic change in Mr. Trump’s presidency. A Democratic House not only can block Mr. Trump’s priorities like building a wall along the southern border, it can also use subpoena power to investigate all manner of issues that he had been protected from until now. “Didn’t want the embrace,” he said repeatedly.
One Republican Mr. Trump did embrace on Wednesday was Vice President Mike Pence. Asked if he would commit to keeping Mr. Pence on the ticket in 2020, the president said, “Well, I haven’t asked him, but I hope so.”
Then, spotting Mr. Pence in the audience, he said, “Mike, will you be my running mate?”
Mr. Pence stood up and nodded that he would.
Turning back to the reporter, Mr. Trump said, “The answer is yes, O.K.?
The turnover in the House foreshadowed a sharp change in Mr. Trump’s presidency. A Democratic House not only can block Mr. Trump’s priorities like building a wall along the southern border and repealing Mr. Obama’s health care program, but it also can use subpoena power to investigate all manner of issues that he had been protected from until now.
Among other things, Democrats are likely to demand the release of tax returns that he has kept secret, look into his business dealings and reopen the House investigation into any ties between Mr. Trump’s team and Russia during the 2016 election.Among other things, Democrats are likely to demand the release of tax returns that he has kept secret, look into his business dealings and reopen the House investigation into any ties between Mr. Trump’s team and Russia during the 2016 election.
“We’ll fill in the gaps on the Russia investigations,” Representative Eric Swalwell, Democrat of California and member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on NBC News on Wednesday morning. “The American people will see his tax returns, not because of any voyeuristic interest, but because they should know if he is corrupt. And we will look at the cashing in of access to the Oval Office and that has been concerning and his financial entanglements overseas.” “The American people will see his tax returns, not because of any voyeuristic interest, but because they should know if he is corrupt,” Representative Eric Swalwell, Democrat of California and member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on NBC News. “And we will look at the cashing in of access to the Oval Office and that has been concerning and his financial entanglements overseas.”
More dangerous to the president, a Democratic House has the power to impeach him, even if it would not be able to muster the two-thirds vote required for conviction in the Senate. Democratic leaders, including Ms. Pelosi, have resisted the idea of impeachment, but could come under enormous pressure from the party’s liberal base, especially if Mr. Mueller produces a report with damning information. After Mr. Sessions was fired later in the day, Representatives Jerry Nadler of New York and Adam Schiff of California, the incoming chairmen of the judiciary and intelligence committees, vowed to take action.
The pressure on Democrats was immediate. “The American people have voted for real change, and it’s critical that these new representatives recognize this will only come with a true political reckoning for the corruption, self-dealing and lawlessness exemplified by Mr. Trump,” said Tom Steyer, a liberal California billionaire who has financed a drive to push for impeachment. “He cannot be permitted to continue to break the law with impunity.” “The firing of Jeff Sessions will be investigated and people will be held accountable,” Mr. Nadler said.
“If the president seeks to interfere in the impartial administration of justice, the Congress must stop him,” Mr. Schiff said. “No one is above the law.”
Mr. Trump opened his news conference with an embrace of Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader, and endorsed her bid to regain the speakership that she lost eight years ago. He even suggested that it may be better for him that Democrats won the House because he can make deals with them, while legislating with a narrower Republican majority might have been more difficult.
“There are many things we can get along on without a lot of trouble, that we agree very much with them and they agree with us,” Mr. Trump said, citing health care, pharmaceutical drug prices, the environment and infrastructure. “I would like to see bipartisanship. I’d like to see unity. Maybe not on everything, but I think we have a very good chance of seeing that.”
Yet talk of compromise quickly turned to confrontation as he said he would fight fire with fire if Democrats follow through on their vows to use the subpoena power.
“They can play that game, but we can play better because we have a thing called the United States Senate and a lot of very questionable things were done, between leaks of classified information and many other elements that should not have taken place,” he said.
For her part, Ms. Pelosi said she hoped that this would be a “new era” and noted that she worked productively with Mr. Bush when Democrats held the House during his last two years in office.
“The fact is we’d like to work together so legislation would be bipartisan,” she said. But Ms. Pelosi said Democrats would not curb their aspirations in the interest of compromise. “We’re not going for the lowest common denominator,” she said. “We’re going for the boldest common denominator.”
While he has presented himself as a natural negotiator from his time in real estate, Mr. Trump has made almost no deals with opposition Democrats since taking office. Mr. Trump had one brief moment of comity with Ms. Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, when they agreed to a short-term spending deal, but it quickly evaporated amid disagreement over immigration.
The news conference, only his third formal solo session with reporters at the White House since he took office 22 months ago, showcased his toxic relationship with the news media. He complained repeatedly that he had been treated unfairly and engaged in several heated exchanges with reporters who questioned him.
“You’re a very rude person,” he told a CNN reporter who persisted in pressing him after the president was ready to move on.
When an NBC reporter stuck up for his CNN colleague, Mr. Trump retorted, “Well, I’m not a big fan of yours either.”
He snapped at a third reporter who tried to ask a question. “Sit down,” he said. “I didn’t call you.”
When a fourth reporter, who is black, asked if he had emboldened white supremacists by adopting the label “nationalist” during the campaign, he lashed out. “That’s such a racist question,” he said, jabbing a finger at her.