Trump Goes on Frantic Phone Blitz as Election Panic Sets In
The president prepared for a rough night with some preemptive damage control.
Clive Mason/Getty Images
President Donald Trump is squeezing in every last word before America has its say.
The 80-year-old president phoned CBS News and the Financial Times on Tuesday for short interviews in the hours before midterm election polls closed nationwide, and texted a Fox News host while he was live on air.
Trump told the Financial Times that he had no immediate plans to strike Iran in the coming days, even as speculation mounted over a major escalation after the midterms.
“We seem to be getting everything we want,” he told the outlet in a six-minute phone interview, suggesting that he was content with the current negotiations.
Trump's war on Iran has frustrated Americans on both sides of the aisle.
Umit Bektas/Umit Bektas/REUTERS
Trump did, however, signal that he was “locked and loaded if we need to go, but there may be no reason for it.”
The president told the outlet that America was “not really in a war” with Iran, bragging that U.S. forces had “wiped out their nuclear potential incapacity” and claiming that more oil was passing through the Strait of Hormuz than before the war.
“If you think about it, we haven’t really had a war with them in a long time—six months, maybe more,” he told the Financial Times. “I don’t consider that we’re in war like Ukraine, wars like World War I, World War II.”
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Trump also commented on his month of election rallies, saying “every one” was a “home run” and expressed optimism about Republicans’ prospects in the midterms.
Trump led dozens of rallies throughout the month of October in the lead up to the midterms.
Vincent Alban/REUTERS
“They were packed,” he said of his panic tour rallies. “They had thousands and thousands of people outside of large arenas and couldn’t even get in.”
In his conversation with CBS News, however, the president struck a more defiant tone.
Asked about the possibility of a Democratic-controlled Congress after the midterms, Trump alluded to wielding his executive power.
“I have the ultimate power—it’s called ‘veto,’” he told CBS News.
The octogenarian again expressed optimism about the GOP’s midterm prospects, adding that he felt confident in his ability to execute his agenda regardless of which party controlled Congress.
Trump cited Trump v. Slaughter, the Supreme Court decision earlier this year that gave him the power to fire Rebecca Slaughter from the Federal Trade Commission, as a ruling that he believes allows him to control federal agencies without congressional input.
“We won the Slaughter case, and the Slaughter case gives the president tremendous powers that it never had before,” he told the outlet. “The presidency, our presidency, is considered a strong presidency. You can do a lot.”
He also repeated his praise for his month of election rallies, telling CBS that the stumping “made a big difference.”
“I did 29 days, 33 of these things, and they were all massive rallies; they were big rallies. No one has ever done anything like it,” he said. “And I think we got the word out. I think we got the enthusiasm out, too.”
When asked to predict the election’s outcome, Trump told CBS, “We’ll have to see.”
“Will we win? We have a good chance. But we’re not going to be embarrassed,” he added.
The president couldn’t keep his hands off his phone, apparently, and even texted Fox News host Greg Gutfeld during Tuesday’s The Five.
“We’re talking about getting political texts, you wouldn’t believe this one I got from—somebody called the president,” Gutfeld said. “‘Greg: Tell [Jessica] Tarlov, who is the worst’—and worst is in capitals—‘Gas prices are lower than they were for Biden and Obama, and they allowed Iran to have the nuclear bomb.’”
The president even phoned his former press secretary Karoline Leavitt, as she revealed on Fox News.
Leavitt has transitioned into a Fox News contributor since her White House exodus.
FOX NEWS
“It is still very early in the night,” she said. “I just talked to the president, and he remains cautiously optimistic.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
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