Biographer Warns President Trump May Lash Out After Midterm Defeat
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Trump biographer Timothy L. O’Brien says the president could become even more combative as Democrats take control of Congress after the midterm elections, stripping away a major legislative path and pushing him toward unilateral power.
President Donald Trump will face a Congress controlled by Democrats after the recent midterm elections, ending the party's majorities in both chambers. The shift removes a legislative pathway that the president relied on during his first two years back in office and may increase his reliance on executive authority.
Timothy L. O’Brien, author of TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald, wrote that a "Trump cornered in his previous incarnations was usually a Trump who lashed out, and it’s likely that’s the president the world will live with for the next two years." He added that Trump’s tendency to operate independently can lead him to double down on failures with little regard for consequences, a pattern that has long alarmed critics of his rule-by-instinct style.
Trump has not challenged the election outcome and has suggested a willingness to cooperate with Democrats, though his remarks still carried the unmistakable edge of a man clinging to dominance. He told Fox News, "Congratulations to the Democrats. I think they did a good job. I really do. They fought hard. They’ve been fighting me for a long time. This fight’s been going on for ages." When asked about working with the opposition, he said, "I would do that. Yeah, I think the Democrats want to work with me. I have a lot of friends that are Democrats. They obviously want to talk, but I have the power of veto, and the power of veto is, you know, it’s impervious."
He also emphasized his veto authority on CBS News, stating, "I have the ultimate power—it’s called ‘veto.’" On a New York Post podcast, he said he intended to use the veto for "a month or two" before reaching deals, adding, "I guess I’ll become Mr. Veto."
A senior administration official told CBS News that Trump is likely to focus on projects he can control, such as library development, while another source said he will pursue "building" initiatives. The White House has not responded to requests for comment.