President Donald Trump has warned the Democrats that impeaching him would “destroy” their party after his party lost control of Congress in the US midterm elections. The 80-year-old received a crushing blow as the Republicans lost control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in a historic defeat.
Trump dismisses impeachment concerns
Despite the “blue tsunami” taking hold of some typically red states, the president has dismissed concerns over the prospect of a third impeachment because the US “is more successful now than at any time in its history”.
Issuing a defiant warning, Trump said: “Not even a little bit. I think it would destroy the Democratic Party if they did that.
“Impeachment for no reason, what for having a successful country? Our country is more successful now than at any time in its history.”
Reasons for the defeat
National economic pressures, an unpopular war and low approval ratings saw Americans turn their backs on the Republicans. President Trump acknowledged that the war in Iran played a role in his party's sweeping defeat.
“I think a part of it was Iran,” Trump told Fox News in an interview; “Iran was a piece of it,” he separately told The Wall Street Journal.
Vice President JD Vance pointedly blamed the president’s war in Iran for the midterm drubbing. He wrote on X: "The reason we lost is the war."
Democrats gain control
As it stands the Democrats have gained seven seats in the Senate, giving them 54, well above the 51 seats needed to secure control of the upper chamber. In the House of Representatives, the Democrats have won 240 seats, surpassing the 218 required for a majority.
Outgoing Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said on Wednesday: "Let’s just be clear about what happened last night. This is close to an extinction-level event for Republicans in many parts of the country."
Voters punished Trump and his allies in swing states such as Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire and North Carolina. The Democrats even took the Republican strongholds of Texas, South Carolina and Kansas. The flipping of Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Maine in particular helped crush Mr Trump's party.
