Joseph Lieberman on midterms: Election results are not a 'blue wave'
"Trump will now face what he didn't have to face in his first two years - that the House of Representatives will be controlled by Democrats."
By SARA RUBENSTEINUpdated: NOVEMBER 7, 2018 18:11Joe Lieberman(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Former Senator Joseph Lieberman said that the results of the midterm elections on Tuesday were "not a blue wave" and US President Donald Trump did not suffer a massive defeat, in an interview on Israel's Army Radio Wednesday morning.“Trump did not suffer a massive defeat but he didn’t get a massive victory either,” said Lieberman, one of the most prominent Jewish politicians in America and the Democratic candidate for vice president in 2000.“Historically, the House of Representatives goes to the party that doesn’t control the White House during midterm elections, and that’s what happened tonight,” Lieberman added. “Trump really focused on Republican candidates winning the Senate races and it looks like they’re going to do well in the Senate.”“The American people are divided politically and the results express that division,” he added. “Trump will now face what he didn’t have to face in his first two years – that the House of Representatives will be controlled by Democrats.”Democrats won enough seats in the House of Representatives to control the congressional chamber, providing a check on US President Donald Trump and robbing him of one-party rule across Washington.In the House of Representatives, Democrats gained 26 seats by early Wednesday morning, giving them the 218 seats needed to take control.Republicans not only retained their control of the Senate but strengthened their majority, gaining two seats.When asked how the Trump presidency will look from herein on, Lieberman responded that when one party controls the White House and another controls one of the houses of Congress – as will be the case in the next session – the two parties need to compromise.He asked: “The question is, and this has been the question in American politics for at least a decade – can the two parties come to the table to negotiate and compromise, and solve problems for America?”Regarding the historical win of two Muslim congresswomen, Lieberman said that this is a breakthrough for the Muslim community and is expected due to changing demographics. However, he stressed that the significance should not be overstated since they are only two candidates out of 535.
