Trump Congratulates Democrats and Says Iran Was Part of the Loss, Then Blames Republicans and Promises Vetoes. Own the Verdict.

The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.

President Trump congratulated Democrats on their midterm victory, said he accepts the result and acknowledged that the war with Iran played a part in Republican losses. In the same breath, he promised to veto Democratic bills, blamed fellow Republicans and denied that the defeat was a judgment on him.

The president's remarks below were made late Tuesday night and early Wednesday, and these accounts were checked against published reports as of 6 a.m. Central on Wednesday, Nov. 4. He is likely to say more today, so later comments may not be reflected here.

Praise for the winners

In a phone interview with Fox News, Trump said, "Well, I say this: congratulations to the Democrats. They did a good job," according to AFP. He added, "But I don't view it as a hit on me." AFP reported that Trump said he accepted the results and was ready to work with Democrats, saying, "I can work with them on many things."

CBS News reported that Trump also congratulated Democrats in a call with the network and said he looks forward to working with them. He said, "I think they're gonna want to work with me," adding, "Otherwise I'd just veto everything and they're not gonna want that."

The Iran war

Asked by Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum around 11 p.m. Central Tuesday whether the Iran war drove voters to Democrats, Trump said "a part of it was Iran," but that people "understood the importance of what I've done with Iran," according to AFP and a Mediaite account of the interview. He went on to defend the war, saying "you can't let the number one state sponsor of terror have a nuclear weapon," Mediaite reported. A Reuters report published by USA Today separately said Trump accepted the election results and acknowledged that the war in Iran played a role in Republicans' losses. CBS News has reported that the war has stretched into its ninth month.

Veto threats and blame

Trump said Democrats "can send over, you know, 50 different great bills that they're all excited about, and I send them back with a nice stamp," and that the stamp would read veto, according to AFP. Before the election, he told a podcast he would become "Mr. Veto" if Democrats won, NPR reported, adding that "at some point we'll probably make deals."

He did not extend the same grace to his own party. "In some cases, they didn't like the candidates, and in some cases those candidates were not my friend," Trump said, according to Fox News. AFP reported that Trump posted on Truth Social that he "wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" He also blamed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who lost to Democrat Gina Hinojosa, saying that if Abbott had not become a "RINO," he would not have lost. A White House official told AFP that "Candidate quality matters."

The same official warned that "President Trump's resolve to stop the Radical Left is only going to become stronger," and closed with "Buckle up," AFP reported.

What changes in January

When the new Congress is sworn in, Democrats will hold subpoena power in the House. CBS News reported that House Democrats plan to investigate the president's family business dealings, immigration enforcement, his pardons and construction projects in the capital. NPR reported that a Democratic Senate will halt the steady confirmation of Trump-nominated judges, and that Cabinet nominees will need some Democratic votes.

Days before the vote, Trump closed his campaign on the National Mall with a more modest message, which this magazine covered in Trump Closes Midterms at Reflecting Pool: 'Very Strong Shot'.

Opinion:

Credit where it is due. Trump congratulated the winners and said he accepts the result. After 2020, that matters. A peaceful handoff of power, even of one branch, is a gift this country should never take for granted. He did the right thing, and I am glad he did.

The rest of it was not leadership. Saying the result was not a hit on him, while blaming candidates he endorsed and the governor of Texas, is the old habit of taking credit for wins and handing out blame for losses. The president told voters to pretend he was on the ballot. They did. A leader who asked for the referendum has to own the verdict.

He was closer to honest on Iran. Part of the loss was the war, he said. That admission should lead somewhere: a clear account to the American people of what the war is for, what it costs and how it ends. Voters who pay for gas are owed that much.

And Republicans in Congress should read this as a warning, not an insult. Loyalty to a man is not a governing philosophy. Conservatism is about limited government, sound money, strong families and telling the truth. Get back to those.

Scripture offers a better path than blame: He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Owning a loss is not weakness. It is the first step back.