Trump: Midterm elections are the most important as we succeeded in restoring America's greatness

US President Donald Trump urged American voters who cast their ballots in yesterday’s midterm elections to “keep America great.” More than 210 million registered Americans, out of 250 million eligible to vote, were called to the polls in the midterm elections that will shape the remaining two years of President Trump’s second term. The Republican and Democratic parties competed for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and for 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate. The elections also included two special elections in Florida and Ohio to fill the seats previously held by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. Voters also chose 36 new state governors and other local officials in state legislatures.

In comments to Fox News, Trump described the midterms as “the most important because we have already succeeded in restoring greatness to America,” expressing optimism that “the election results will be better than we expect.” He accused Democrats of “rigging the Alaska election,” adding, “We cannot allow the radical left to take control of the United States.” In a live telephone interview on election day with the network, Trump affirmed that his policies on immigration, Iran, and tariffs had contributed to “rebuilding” the country. Speaking on “Fox & Friends,” he said, “We have to keep America great. We are great now. We were terrible two years ago.” He added, “The inflation problem has been resolved, and the Strait of Hormuz is now under our full control thanks to the naval blockade (imposed on Iran). I mean, everything is going well.” He continued, “Car companies are flocking to us because they don’t want to pay tariffs.”

Amid anticipation of a possible resumption of strikes against Iran after the midterms, the US president said, “We can eliminate Iran, and we may have to target the Jask site,” reaffirming earlier remarks that “we may have to target the Jask site, and we can do it within an hour, whenever we want.”

Commenting on US media reports of limited strikes targeting Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz the night before yesterday, Trump said the “attack on Iran was not a war but a limited strike.” He clarified that “Iran built an air defense facility, and as soon as it was completed, we heavily bombed it yesterday.” According to the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, and other media outlets citing unnamed US officials, the strikes targeted Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and were defensive in nature. Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, reported five explosions shook Qeshm, without specifying their nature.

Regarding Israel, the US president said Washington would halt implementation of a ten-year security assistance agreement with Israel, under which Israel was to receive $3.8 billion annually until 2028. Trump stated that Israel “does not mind” ending this assistance, which began in 2019 during his first term.

He added, “We will help Israel if it needs us to.”

As polling stations opened sequentially, starting on the U.S. East Coast at 6 a.m., the Florida Election Lab at the University of Florida announced that the number of voters participating in early voting for this election had reached 60 million, far surpassing the approximately 46 million who cast early ballots in the 2022 midterm elections.

Democrats need to gain only three seats in the House of Representatives and four net seats in the Senate to take control of both chambers.

Although Republicans hold a 53-to-47 majority in the Senate, the electoral contest extended to conservative states such as Kansas, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, and Alaska.

Meanwhile, Democrats were forced to defend closely contested seats, including in Michigan, where Democratic Representative Haley Stevens announced on Sunday her support for Republican candidate Mike Rogers in his race against Democrat Abdul Salaam, a move welcomed by Trump, who praised the representative as courageous.

The election campaign attracted spending exceeding $11 billion on political advertising, while billionaire Elon Musk injected hundreds of millions of dollars to support Republican political efforts.

CBS News quoted a U.S. administration official as saying that President Trump would monitor the midterm elections from the White House.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced it was monitoring elections in more than 120 jurisdictions across all states, including North Carolina, Michigan, Alaska, and Texas.

If Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives alone, the U.S. administration would face greater difficulties in passing legislation and budgets, and the party would also gain chairmanships of key committees.

If Democrats also take control of the Senate, they would be able to block or delay confirmation of executive and judicial appointments and strengthen oversight of the White House.

However, holding a majority does not guarantee the ability to pass all legislation, as Senate rules typically require 60 votes to end debate on most bills.

Beyond opinion polls, past experience has shown shifts in party control during U.S. midterm elections, a trend the U.S. president indicated he also expected this time.

In response to a reporter’s question during an interview last weekend with The New York Post regarding his strategy in the event of Democratic control of Congress, Trump said he would become the “Mr. Veto,” meaning he would use his veto power against any legislation before negotiating compromises.

Conversely, if Republicans retain majorities in both chambers, Trump would have a wider margin to continue implementing his agenda, including on tax policy, immigration, defense spending, and executive and judicial appointments.