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United States President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that Republicans would have won the midterm elections "in a landslide" if he had been on the ballot, as Democrats were projected to regain control of the House of Representatives and made significant gains in the Senate.
“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 wrote on his Truth Social platform.
His remarks came as several major U.S. media outlets projected that Democrats would secure a House majority, dealing a setback to Trump's Republican Party during the final two years of his presidency.
Democrats also flipped Republican-held Senate seats in North and South Carolina, including a victory by former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper over Michael Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman endorsed by Trump.
Despite the losses, the White House struck a defiant tone, warning Democrats that the president would continue opposing their agenda regardless of the election results.
"The White House mood is defiant," a White House official told AFP.
As the results unfolded, the White House suggested that some Republican candidates had failed to capitalize on Trump's support during the campaign.
"Candidate quality matters, and President Trump did a better job promoting many of the candidates on the ballot than the candidates did themselves," the official said.
Trump had spent much of the preceding month campaigning for Republican candidates, holding near-daily rallies and encouraging voters to "pretend I'm on the ballot".
The White House initially described the president as "cautiously optimistic" before adopting a more confrontational tone as Democratic gains mounted.
Trump hosted Cabinet members and political advisers for an election-night reception in the White House East Room, although journalists were not permitted to attend.
Some White House staff members ordered food from The Cheesecake Factory, in an apparent reference to former President Barack Obama's criticism of Trump's White House renovations, which Obama had described as "looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory."
Before the first results emerged, Trump directed a series of angry social media posts at conservative broadcaster Fox News, accusing the network of turning against him.
As polling stations began closing, the president claimed Fox's declining ratings reflected what he considered unfavorable coverage of his administration.
In one post, Trump said the network was "way down, not because of me, but because they are AGAINST me!"
He also described one Fox host as "DUMB AS A ROCK" and dismissed one of the network's voter surveys as "always the worst."
"FoxNews Ratings are way down (27%!) because they're spending too much time covering the Trump Deranged Dumocrats!" Trump wrote.
The criticism came as election results increasingly indicated Republican losses in races across the country.
The midterm elections were held against a backdrop of voter dissatisfaction over rising living costs and the economic consequences of the U.S. war against Iran, which has contributed to higher fuel prices.
The White House, however, dismissed concerns that the administration's policies would produce lasting economic difficulties.
"Anyone who voted Democrat today is going to have a serious case of buyer's remorse when gas prices come down quickly when the Iran conflict is solved but they're still stuck with a list of liberal extremist Democrats," the White House official said.
The official also warned that Democratic gains would not weaken Trump's determination to confront his political opponents.
"And a final note here: regardless of how today plays out, President Trump's resolve to stop the Radical Left is only going to become stronger. Buckle up."
Trump has suggested that an agreement with Iran could be reached soon, although speculation has continued over whether Washington might resume large-scale military operations following the elections.
Meanwhile, the president has indicated that he would resist Democratic legislation if the opposition gains control of Congress.
In a telephone interview with CBS on Tuesday, Trump threatened to become "Mr Veto" and block legislation passed by Democrats.
A Democratic House majority would give the party greater power to challenge Trump's legislative agenda and investigate his administration, while control of the Senate would also allow Democrats to block senior appointments and judicial nominees.
Although Democrats were projected to win the House, the battle for control of the Senate remained unresolved as vote counting continued.
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