Trump Blames Fox News, Iran War and Candidates After Democrats Win House and Senate

President Donald Trump assigned blame to Fox News, the war with Iran and some Republican candidates after Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections. Democrats flipped at least seven Republican-held Senate seats and more than two dozen House districts, Fox News reported. In a late-night Truth Social post, Trump said Fox bore responsibility for the losses because it featured Democratic voices. Around midnight he phoned into the network's coverage and called its polls the worst. Anchor Bret Baier replied that the results were close to what Fox's polls had shown. Trump also said the Iran conflict, now in its ninth month, and higher gasoline prices were part of the reason, though he said he would do it again. He wrote that he was not on the ballot and would have won in a landslide, and said he did not expect cabinet changes. He vowed to veto what he called insane Democratic bills while saying he expected to work with them.

Fox News, on the right, leads with the veto pledge and Trump's admission that gas prices likely hurt Republicans, and it includes his offer to work with Democrats. The Daily Mail frames the story as an effort to save face, stressing his denial of fault, his blame of poor candidates, and his comments on the cabinet. It also notes he had urged supporters to imagine he was on the ballot. The Guardian and CNN, on the left, lead instead with the attack on Fox. CNN calls the blame implausible, and the Guardian says Fox hosts barely criticized him and notes Baier's gentle pushback. All of these outlets report the Fox call and the Iran explanation. The Hill adds that Trump made his Iran remark to the Wall Street Journal. NewsNation adds that Republicans blamed Trump while he pointed to endorsed candidates such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.