- 38 minutes ago
The Democratic Party secured majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the US midterm elections, altering the balance of power in Washington.
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00:00Hello and welcome. Good evening. You're joining us live here on India Today for our mega two-hour
00:05broadcast focusing on the U.S. midterms and the results that have come in. I've transported
00:11myself to the Capitol Hill, which has been captured by the Democrats. It's a blue tsunami,
00:16if you will, that stunned Donald Trump and the Republicans. Over the next two hours on
00:21the special broadcast, we're going to be decoding for you what it took, what were the factors that
00:26worked against Trump and how the U.S. president is blaming everyone around him, every factor around
00:32him, but himself saying, if I were on the ballot, we would have still won. We'll get you all of
00:36those
00:36reactions and also break down for you what this means for the rest of the world, including for
00:42us here in India. Donald Trump is stunned. The world is watching very, very closely to see what really
00:50this means and the repercussions. So you're with us on the special broadcast. We've got the best of
00:55the best coming to you with their expert analysis. Our in-house experts will weigh in on what they
01:02think are the big headlines of this loss of fees for Donald Trump, or like we're calling it Donald
01:08Trump. Democrats poised to take control of both houses of Congress through a series of sweeping
01:15victories in the U.S. midterms. The voters have delivered a thorough rebuke to President Donald Trump.
01:21They've ousted Republicans in contests up and down the ballot in what was considered to be safe
01:27seats for the Republicans. Always red is now bleeding blue. U.S. media reports that Democrats
01:33have won back control of the House of Representatives. Now, the halfway mark is at 218 of the 435.
01:43As far as Donald Trump is concerned, he's posted a picture of a cap with just a word,
01:48veto written on it, and said he was going to become a political pundit, analyzing the reasons
01:53behind the Democrats' victory in the midterm polls, but has also said, I will work with the
01:59Democrats. At this point, he really doesn't have much of a choice. He's acknowledged the upcoming
02:03power of shift in Washington. Multiple interviews that he's given to American media, to the New York
02:08Times, Trump said that he was absolutely willing to accept the results and prepared to work with
02:13Democrats. But there were some big, big upsets that even the Republicans didn't see coming. One of
02:19those is Texas. A red state has now turned blue. We'll break down all of that for you, state by
02:26state,
02:27the big surprises. But let me first run you through all of the takeaways of this Trump verdict.
02:34Why is it that there's been this mandate against Donald Trump? That's how you see it,
02:39essentially these midterms. But first, rising prices and cost of living hurt Republicans.
02:45Inflation is at an all-time high in America. It's the biggest factor. The economy inflation has been
02:51the biggest factor in this midterm. And Donald Trump has tried to paint a rosy picture. Clearly
02:56didn't work. And all of this ultimately is due to the war in the Gulf, the Iran war, a decision
03:02taken
03:02by Donald Trump. The cost of that domestically, in India we've seen it, it's hurt America too.
03:08That dented the Republicans' chances. Donald Trump in an interview also has said that maybe it's the
03:14war that's cost him and cost the Republicans this midterm. Tough policies failed to override several
03:20concerns. And while in fact there was attempts made to kind of do damage control, it didn't really work.
03:27And that's why even Republicans, hardcore Republicans, have switched to Democrats, many say, to teach
03:33Donald Trump a lesson. Economic inequality, household costs rising non-stop, where things
03:40were becoming unaffordable, housing was becoming unaffordable. All of that played out against
03:45the Republicans. Trump's low approval became a campaign liability. Trump is the face of the
03:52Republicans usually, you'd think, is an asset, in this case a liability, because that's the face
03:57that Americans associated with inflation, with the Iran war, and other aspects that have affected
04:03them as well. Now the Trump-backed candidates who also suffered key defeats. These are people who
04:09Donald Trump personally campaigned for, who are his personal picks. They've also lost out. Think
04:15Vivek Ramaswamy as well. And we'll get you his reaction in just a bit. The Democrats also gained
04:21congressional oversight power. What does that mean? Well, at this point, with control of both
04:26houses of the Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, what that means is that they can
04:31step in on every aspect of what's on Trump's agenda, on governance. They've breached Republican
04:38strongholds as well. Georgia, Texas, to name a few, are some of those big, big upsets that even the
04:44Republicans didn't see coming. And I'm not just talking about the Senate here. It's also in the
04:49gubernatorial picks, in the governors that you see that change. Republican support has
04:54eroded among voter groups. And this is a big headache for Donald Trump, because what this
04:59means is that even your core vote bank, not sticking with you at these difficult times,
05:04and they've decided to switch. Now, have they permanently switched? That's a big question
05:08mark. But there is clearly an attempt here to send out a message to Donald Trump. Voters have
05:13demanded greater oversight of Trump. What this does is it creates a layer of supervision,
05:17create a layer of monitoring. Look, as much as we can say Donald Trump, he's still the president,
05:23he's still the executive, he still has powers. But what this does, of the Democrats having control
05:28in this manner, is that there is a layer of oversight, of supervision that Donald Trump cannot
05:33bulldoze his way through with whatever he wants to do, with whatever legislation or whatever agenda
05:38he has. That's the overlaying message here. I mentioned how there are several of Trump's closest
05:44state's closest picks who have also been snubbed, rejected by the voters of America. One of those
05:51considered to be one of the big upsets is that of Vivek Ramaswamy. Listen in to what he said.
05:58Tough and challenging night for Republicans across the country, and it is a tough night for us here
06:04in Ohio. It was a tough race. It was bitter at times in both directions. I would be incomplete if
06:16I didn't
06:16tell you that I had some serious concerns about the future direction of our country.
06:23There's no avoiding that. But I do believe that there have been many ups and downs in our country's
06:30history. But we have, in the end, still found our way upward. And I have confidence that sometimes
06:37these things happen for a reason.
06:41Okay, so that was Vivek Ramaswamy conceding defeat. Pranay Upadhyay is joining us live. He's been
06:48tracking the results from early this morning. It's been a long day, Pranay. Most projections did say
06:54it would go this way. But, you know, I think we can go ahead and call this a blue tsunami.
06:59And very
07:00clearly, a vote against Donald Trump. You know, it's a midterm where people were saying that this
07:06is essentially a yay or a nay for him. And I think the messaging was very clear. This isn't so
07:10much
07:11about Democrat strength, but rather about a negative for Trump. Yes?
07:15You're absolutely right, Akshita. This should be or this is being seen as a referendum on President
07:20Donald Trump himself and the policies he is pursuing in the United States. And in fact,
07:26if you see the metadata or, you know, in greater detail, you can see that how 20 House seats held
07:35by Republicans were flipped by Democrats. How eight Republican senator seats they have lost and
07:41they lost to Democrats. So this is how the power shifted. And in fact, you mentioned about Texas.
07:45Texas is the most interesting story of this midterm election because the Republicans have
07:51lost their bastion. After four decades, they have lost both governor seat as well as their
07:56Senate seat. So this is something very big which has happened. And in fact, North Carolina,
08:01Kentucky, Georgia, in fact, these are very interesting results delivered by the American voters.
08:07And this is basically rejection of many of the Trump policies. And in fact, Republican Party is
08:13bearing the brunt of what President Donald Trump is trying to do. And in fact, I'm sure there will
08:18be rumbling inside the Republican camp now. And there will be a few more voices coming up. And
08:25in fact, you know, President Donald Trump has to face many of his critics from within the party as
08:31well now. You know, Pranik, can I request you to stay with me? Because there's so many headlines
08:36that emerge from these midterms, so many faces. You know, you mentioned Texas. James Tallarico is one of
08:42those who managed to win Texas, a Democrat. Nobody ever thought that was possible. Abdul El-Sayed was
08:47someone who faced a lot of communal hate from Donald Trump, who said that, you know, now we'll
08:51have to ensure metal detectors, who said I can't pronounce his name and so many other taunts like
08:56that. Let's get you some of their reactions on how they've chosen to respond after winning in their
09:01seats. We just took back Texas. We, we just proved that all the money in the world is no match
09:14for the
09:15people of Texas. We just showed that a politics of division is no match for a politics of love.
09:32And we just sent a message to every billionaire mega donor, every trillionaire mega donor,
09:43every corrupt defender of this broken political system. In this state, in this country, power belongs
09:52to the people. J.D. There is this delicious irony in the fact that you're constitutionally obligated
10:08to swear me in in January. Against all odds, we Democrats have won the Senate. And we have
10:22five words for the American people. Relief is on the way.
10:29We understand that this election, a dramatic change election, means that the American people
10:35are crying out for transformational change. We hear you, we see you, we feel you, and House
10:43Democrats are committed to making life better for you.
10:47I still believe in the promise of South Carolina and the greatness of America. Tonight was not the
10:54result any of us wanting in this room or around the country, but we cannot exit the fight.
11:02This is a tough cycle, and all of us need to be involved as we chart a path forward.
11:08We knew that the chaos and corruption in Washington were hurting our people. Today, you said, this
11:17has to stop. And as your new United States Senator, I am ready to take that message to Washington
11:34Washington and work to do something about it.
11:41All right, yeah, it would have been easier for us to just complain and watch from the sidelines,
11:48to shake our heads and turn away. It would have been easier, but it wouldn't have been right.
11:55Thank you, Georgia. Georgia, you did it. In sweeping and decisive victories,
12:10the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption, and incompetence of the failed
12:18lame-duck President Donald J. Trump.
12:28And if at times these last two years, amidst the ceaseless onslaught of brutality and indecency,
12:38you doubted whether our republic would survive, let tonight's results give you courage that
12:44the first light of dawn is on the horizon.
12:50To every American disappointed by tonight's results, I mean, I'm disappointed too, but we
12:55are never discouraged, okay, because we live in the greatest nation in the world. Listen,
13:02this election was always about much more than just one policy and red team versus blue team.
13:07It was about whether we're going to preserve and strengthen the American experiment or we're
13:11going to hand our country over to far-left radicals who have captured the Democrat Party.
13:15The battle for our country, that battle against this insurgent socialist movement and the battle
13:21to restore American greatness, none of that is over in any way. In fact, I'm going to tell you right
13:27now, that fight has just begun for our generation, okay? We will win that fight for America.
13:33So the Democrats, they're hailing this victory, saying this is a generational change. I mean,
13:39we'll have to hold our horses on that. This is a midterm and usually it's always against the
13:43incumbent. Does this mean that there's a complete mandate to sweep against Donald Trump in the
13:48elections that will come up in two years from now? Too early to say. But one aspect while we're having
13:54this conversation about the midterms and who's won is that there's been a lot of curiosity here in
13:58India about the Indian Americans who've done exceedingly well in this midterm. We're going
14:04to see quite a bit of representation of Indian Americans really in the Senate. Let me break down
14:10why I'm saying that. There is, of course, Pia Dandia. You may have heard of her already going viral
14:14since as a Democrat has won Florida's 22nd district. So she's going to be the first Indian American
14:20elected to Florida's house delegation. A huge deal. And Pia Dandia has pulled it off. In fact,
14:27right after in her victory speech said she owes it all to her family. Suhas Subramanian,
14:32he's someone who's been in the spotlight as well. Again, Democrat, re-elected from Virginia's 10th
14:38district, secured a second term with about 63% of the vote. So he's not someone who's new to the
14:45spotlight, new to the headlines, but has managed to hold his own as a Democrat. Aruna Miller,
14:51another Democrat, has been re-elected as Maryland's lieutenant governor. And she's someone
14:56who's always been, in fact, in the headlines as a face for the Democrats in Maryland.
15:02Pramila Jaipal, again, Democrat, again, someone who's already been in American politics in the
15:08power circle, has retained Washington's 7th district with 87% votes. But Washington,
15:14not really surprising. It is a blue stick.
15:16Ro Khanna, Democrat, again, someone who speaks also very vocally about Indian Americans' rights,
15:23about Hindus' rights in America, has been re-elected from California's 17th district.
15:28Ami Bera, a Democrat, in California's third district with about 60% of votes right now.
15:35We'll have to see if that changes. Ami Shah, another Democrat, is in fact leading in Arizona's
15:42first district with 55% of votes. These are two areas where we're still seeing some of the results
15:47trickling in. But Pranay, I'll bring you in on this. All of these Indian Americans that we're
15:53talking about, there's a lot of chatter about them, a lot of curiosity about them. But what I can't help
15:58but note is all of them are bleeding blue, are Democrats.
16:06Absolutely. You noticed it absolutely right. And you pinned it absolutely right. But if you see,
16:11traditionally, Indian Americans have been considered as the Democrat voters. What shifted in the last
16:17few years was President Donald Trump, his approach towards India, events like Howdy, Modi, Namaste Trump,
16:23Bonhomie between India and President Donald Trump. That made some kind of shift. And that's why you see
16:29names like Vivek Ramasamy representing, you know, Republican camp. That's why you say many other
16:35names. And in fact, you know, Puneet Aluwalia also contested, though he lost from Virginia, but he also
16:40contested the election. And many Indians are tilted towards the Republican Party. But now we can see
16:45in last two years, President Donald Trump's approach towards India, the penal tariffs, his, you know,
16:51his approach and his attitude towards Operation Sindhu, and all those things contributed. And also,
16:58the H-1B visa policy, the anti-immigration policy, and also in a state like Texas, where a large number
17:03of Indians are there. And that is the reason why, you know, event like Howdy, Modi was hosted in city
17:09of Houston. And that is the reason where we have seen a large number of, you know, anti-immigrant,
17:15anti-Indian or, you know, hate campaigns being run by some of the Republican faces there. And that is the
17:24reason why, you know, you see that large number of Republican people from Indian American origin
17:32have lost. And large number of Indian Americans representing blue from the Democratic Party have
17:38won that election or managed to save their seats. Interesting. But, you know, at this point,
17:44you look at some of the big faces for the Republicans, Indian Americans, like Vivek Ramaswamy,
17:49lost. Democrats, the same big faces, have managed to win. So there will be that contrast that everyone
17:55will highlight. Pranay, just one more aspect before we let you go, which is a point that you made
17:59earlier on Texas. I want to put the spotlight briefly on why this is such a big deal, that Texas,
18:06for the first time since 1980s, has turned blue. This is known to be a Republican state. It's known to
18:14be
18:14extremely conservative. And the fact that even Texas has turned blue tells you really what is
18:19the messaging that the people of America want to give to Donald Trump. Now, the Democrats have
18:24actually swept both the governor and the Senate races in Texas. So it's not a fluke. It's not a
18:29one-off. The Elon Musk factor has also backfired here in Texas. It hasn't worked in their favor. So
18:36we're putting out those pointers on our screens as well. There's a growing anti-immigrant sentiment
18:41that the Republicans tried to kind of put the spotlight on, failed to deliver. That didn't work.
18:48Another campaign, Drill Baby Drill. You've heard that several times from Donald Trump. That pitch
18:53has not worked. This is a state where, in fact, it's all about oil. And yet this Drill Baby Drill
18:59campaign, that pitch did not work. It fell flat. The data center promise also failed to win over
19:06voters. The number one issue, very clearly, was inflation, was the rising costs. And even the
19:12Texans were not immune to that. Pranay, is this, you know, something that is winds of change sweeping
19:19through Texas? Or do you think that it's just because of the current scenario that even Texans
19:23said, look, he needs a reality check?
19:27Akshita, what the message Texas has delivered is considered as a tectonic shift. What has happened
19:32here? Who lost and who won? So basically, James Telleson, James Tellerico, who won? He's a 37-year-old
19:41school teacher. His message, his campaign message was what? Texas is not for sale. And he lost to,
19:47he won against whom? Mr. Paxton. Ken Paxton is a sitting attorney general of the United States.
19:53In fact, the Texas message is very loud, very clear that it's basically common people versus
20:01the billionaire. The kind of money pumped in by billionaires like, you know, Elon Musk, trillionaires
20:07like Elon Musk. And that's why, that is the reason he, in his, you know, victory speech, he mentioned
20:12about the amount of money pumped in by trillionaires in Texas, but the people of Texas have voted.
20:18You mentioned about the hate campaign against the immigrant that has also delivered a message
20:22in Texas. You mentioned about, you know, the governor seat, the Senate seat, both lost by
20:26the Republican Party. Then that is, that is the reason why, you know, Republican Party has all the
20:32more reasons to reflect upon this Texas message. What has actually happened here? The many Republican
20:37seats they have lost, they have lost to Democrats. Many red seats have turned blue, not only in
20:42Texas, many other states as well. But that is the reason why Texas message is being seen
20:47as a larger message from the people of the United States, a referendum on Trump policy, be it the
20:54message of, you know, the oil policy politics, because ultimately, you know, Texas is the
21:00beneficiary of the oil politics because it has large oil resources. But the Trump, Trump's
21:06policy regarding oil has backfired because the gasoline prices are up, which has its own
21:12cascading effect in the United States and which resulted into the price rise. And fixing the
21:17economy has become a big issue as far as this midterm election is concerned.
21:22Okay, Pranay, you know, let's just focus. We've spoken of Texas. There are several other such
21:27states that have thrown up big, big surprises. So let's focus on the six big flips as we've put
21:33it out. Texas, of course, as Pranay highlighted, Democrat James Tallarico defeating Paxton,
21:38considered to be a big, big deal. South Carolina, you have Annie Andrews defeating Darlene Graham.
21:44Again, in fact, that came as a big surprise. In Kansas, a Democrat defeating Roger Marshall.
21:52Historic. In Kansas, a red state you've never seen really the Democrats in power for, I cannot
21:57remember, for decades really. North Carolina, again, historic because Roy Cooper has defeated
22:03Michael Watley. Ohio, you've got the Democrats once again on top, defeating John Husted. You had
22:09Sherrod Brown coming, essentially coming to power in this particular state in Ohio. Then in Iowa,
22:17Democrat Josh Turek defeating Ashley Hinson. So a lot of big, big upsets there for Donald Trump.
22:25And what's very clear, Pranay, is that Donald Trump is not going to take the fall for this.
22:29He's saying, if I were on the ballot, this would have become red. This would have remained red. We'd
22:35have won more. Obviously, this is this Trumpian style to shrug off the responsibility. But
22:41obviously, you know, people are talking within the Republican Party. You know, I was talking to
22:47some of my Republican friends there in the United States, and they said that, you know, obviously,
22:50the party will think about it, that whether Trump is an asset or a liability. And also,
22:57you heard Vivek Ramasamy in his speech, he said that this gives all the more reason for us that
23:01what went wrong and how did it go wrong. So these are all the reasons. But you see the kind
23:07of
23:07messaging which is being put out by President Donald Trump. On one side, on social media post,
23:12he has posted a picture of a red MAGA cap with a veto written on it. They're clearly trying to
23:19give
23:19out a message that, you know, he's still the president. Nothing has changed for him,
23:24and he can still exercise his veto power. So this is the kind of message. But on the other side,
23:29he's also trying to give out a reconciliatory message that he's ready to work with the Democrats.
23:33Because ultimately, what is at stake? Because there are chances, there are indications that
23:37Democrats, if they have majority, which they are already having right now, they can take it to the
23:43impeachment of President Donald Trump. And that will bring a lot of trouble for President Donald
23:47Trump. Though, removal of President Donald Trump from White House, that kind of number
23:53Democrats do not have in Senate, because for that, you need 67 Senate seats. And that kind of power
24:00equation or that kind of number equation is still not there in the Senate. But definitely, you know,
24:05impeachment or subpoena powers, you know, going into the personal dealings, business dealings of
24:10President Donald Trump can certainly make things difficult for President Donald Trump in next two
24:14years. Okay, it'll be interesting to see really, how Donald Trump moves forward now. Is he going to
24:21be as boisterous as he has been with some of his moves? Is he going to continue bulldozing the way
24:27he has? He most definitely cannot afford to do it in the House anymore, or in the Senate, for that
24:32matter. So things definitely change for him. He'll have to concede ground a bit. And that could also
24:37mean repercussions on how he's taken up issues geopolitically, and otherwise as well, including on issues like
24:44tariffs, which means that India also could see the impact of these midterm results, which is
24:50something that will be interesting to watch out for, Pranay. You know, how much power does the House of
24:55Representatives, does the Senate actually have to be able to, let's say, create an impact on India?
25:03You know, as far as India's case is concerned, India always enjoyed the bipartisan support, both in
25:09Democratic camp as well as in Republican camp. And you can recall, Akshita, you and I also had a discussion
25:14when President Donald Trump announced a penal tariff against India. And in fact, you know, people from
25:20either side of the aisle, Democrats, leaders, as well as the Republican leaders, advised President
25:25Donald Trump that India is a relationship in which, you know, there was not only bipartisan support,
25:30successive administrations have invested in this relationship. And this is the relationship
25:34which needs to be handled well, this needs to be taken care of. And I think that President
25:40Donald Trump also paid heed to some extent to that relationship. But this voter verdict,
25:47this midterm election result has also advised him or rather, you know, gives him a reason to be
25:53reminded that, you know, he should take care of the relationship well, bilateral trade agreement is
25:59pending. Also, you know, President Donald Trump would be requiring or he would be looking forward for
26:05more reliable friends. And India, if you see the trajectory of India-U.S. relation of past 26 years,
26:12we have seen that there is a consolidation, there is a strong bond between these two countries,
26:18the defense relationship. So we can see some kind of course correction if this is so. If the message
26:25given by the Indian-American voters in the United States in this midterm election is heard well in
26:31White House, then also all the more reason for President Donald Trump to, you know, disupper this
26:36election well and also to pay heed to those advices because India has always been a reliable
26:43and trustworthy strategic partner for the United States. And, you know, this relationship needs to
26:48be handled well.
26:50More about really messaging for Donald Trump. Does he see the writing on the wall is the question.
26:55Thanks very much, Pranay, for joining us with your analysis of this U.S. midterm result. Donald Trump
27:03will, of course, be putting it on each candidate, saying very clearly, I'm not taking the fall for
27:08this one. If I were on the ballot, he says, we would have won this. But ultimately, this is a
27:13reality
27:13check for the U.S. president. Hello and welcome to a very special broadcast of the midterm coverage.
27:30And we continue to bring you breaking news from the U.S. Now, this one's Trump and Iran or Trump's
27:36nuke warning to Iran. Now, President Trump is telling the U.S. media that he will do something
27:44big on Iran. He said he might do a heavy hit on Iran. Now, this is a big Trump remark
27:51amid rumors of
27:52possible nuclear strike. Trump is going on a rant spree after losing the midterms, as some would say.
28:01Now, this is what President Trump has said. He said, I got Greenland and no one talks about it.
28:07The Democrats are poised to take control of both houses of Congress through a series of sweeping
28:14victories in U.S. midterm elections. The United States voters have delivered a thorough rebuke
28:21to President Trump by ousting Republicans in contest up and down the ballot. U.S. media reports that
28:29Democrats have won back the control of House of Representatives and will cross halfway mark
28:35of 218 seats needed to establish majority. Democrats have won in places long considered to be
28:45the Republican strongholds flipping. Even Senate states like in places like Texas, South Carolina,
28:53and captured other offices like Ohio governorship that Republicans had held for years and in some
29:00cases even decades. One of the most shocking results of the night was Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy losing the
29:08Ohio governor race to Amy Acton. Trump had backed Ramaswamy for over two years, who was leading in
29:14polls up until the last few weeks. Now, President Trump appeared to have acknowledged the upcoming shift
29:21of power in Washington. He told the New York Times in a phone interview that he is absolutely
29:28willing to accept those results, the results of the midterm, and is prepared to work with the Democrats.
29:38Trump's jive at Democrats after poll results. U.S. President Donald Trump posted a picture of a cap
29:45with the word veto written on it and said he was going to become a political pundit, analyzing reasons
29:52behind Democrats' victory in the midterm polls. President Donald Trump also has conceded defeat in
30:00the midterm polls. He said he was willing and absolutely willing to accept the election results
30:07and is prepared to work with the Democrats if they end up taking control of the Congress, meaning if
30:13they also end up getting the majority in the U.S. Senate. President Trump, however, stuck a different
30:19note on social media, insisting that he was not on the ballot and claiming that Republicans would have
30:25won a landslide if he had been on that ballot. So his remarks come after he had warned that he
30:33could
30:33become Mr. Veto if Democrats take control of either or both chambers of the U.S. Congress. Now,
30:41earlier, as initial trends had emerged, President Trump had said he would use his veto powers to block
30:47Democratic legislation, arguing that repeated vetoes could eventually force Democrats to negotiate
30:53with him and his administration. India Today earlier spoke to Indian-American Congressman
30:59Shri Thanedar, who represented Michigan's 13th Congressional District. Take a listen.
31:05We're now being joined by Shri Thanedar and on the U.S. midterm results that continue to emerge and
31:14clearly in the favor of the Democrats. Mr. Thanedar, how would you look at the statement coming from
31:20Donald Trump? He says that he is willing to accept this defeat and he's also willing to work with the
31:27Democrats and he will work something out. What do you make of the statement?
31:33Well, I welcome Mr. President Trump's statements here and his initial, at least, indication that he's
31:42willing to work with the Democrats. The American people have sent him a loud and clear message that
31:49his handling of the Iran war, his tariffs is not acceptable. People's lives are tough. Prices have gone
32:02up and the message is loud and clear. Democrats have a landslide victory here and Mr. Trump's willingness.
32:13And I would like to, I would only believe it when I see it, because he has been, run this
32:20government
32:21with a lot of arrogance, unilaterally made decisions, you know, disregarded U.S. Constitution.
32:29So if this president is truly means what he's saying now, I welcome that.
32:38Right. And what do you make of the statement he made before that in case he loses, he's going to
32:44use
32:44all his veto powers on anything that he wants to get a go ahead for, despite the gridlock that may
32:50occur at the Senate. How would you look at that possibility now?
32:56Adding that is more of how Mr. Trump operates. You know, he, I have not seen him collaborate. I have
33:04not seen him make compromises. You know, he lets his ego and his arrogance get better of him. If
33:15it remains to be seen. Now, look, the American people have been very clear about this.
33:22In the last two years, he ran the U.S. government like he got a mandate from the American people.
33:29He made unilateral tariff decisions. Tariff was the prerogative of U.S. Congress,
33:36and he illegally took that into his own hands. He ran an illegal Iran war. There's so much that this
33:45president did that did not help American people. The prices of gasoline, prices of diesel, fertilizers
33:53have gone up. Access to health care is an issue. And American people are fed up with this president,
34:00fed up with the high cost. And we need to do this work together. The president is still going to
34:08be
34:08president for the next two years. And we need to work together to make things happen.
34:15Right. And what would it mean for all his programs that he will need funding for? How long can he
34:23continue with the kind of fiscal deficit countries looking at this point in time? And do you see gridlock
34:29coming? Will he now turn into a lame duck president? Well, the gridlock doesn't have to happen. If we can
34:39have a give and take, make good decisions, first of all, we got to stop this Iran war. We need
34:48to get to
34:49the negotiating tables and negotiate a win-win agreement with Iran. We need to, you know,
35:00not be as chaotic about tariffs. And focus has to be on lowering prices, lowering prices of gasoline,
35:08lowering prices of groceries. Everyday health care has to be accessible. There's a lot that needs to be
35:15done. We need to work together. It is up to this president. Is he going to encourage a gridlock,
35:23fights with Congress, or is he going to be willing to work to make American people's lives better?
35:30Republican strategist Ahluwalia Puneet joined India Today's special coverage on U.S. midterm
35:35polls. Listen in what he had to say about the results.
35:40Puneet, you have contested election. You made certain references about the Indian Americans,
35:44but if you see the pattern of voting for Indian American, do you see any kind of a tectonic shift
35:52as far as the Indians, Indian Americans voted this time? And what are the contributing factors for
35:57that? Well, Indians have, you see, I'll tell you which is stays between us.
36:04Really? Puneet, really? You're on TV.
36:08I know. Indian Americans tend to vote Democrats, predominantly. And then they moved, thanks to
36:15President Trump, on the Republican side. And yes, I keep saying, vote in your interest,
36:21because if you believe in less regulation, less red tape, less government, more free enterprise system,
36:27and rule of law, the Republican Party is for you. But this time, I believe, I think they took it
36:33more
36:33personally. I think the affordability issue, which again, I can guarantee you that after the war is,
36:40is basically brought to its knees, we will have the gas prices go down. I also believe the inflation
36:46we inherited from Biden will go down. And that's what has been hard. And that's the reason President
36:52Trump has been very, very bullish about reducing interest rates to restart the economy. And it's the
36:57democratic policies, like the Keystone policy, that if you build, if you have a coal plant,
37:04you better close it. And the nuclear energy. So that's independence of energy independence, which
37:10President Trump has been trying to achieve, has been his main focus. And it's the democratic policy
37:16which has shut it down. And I know, Geeta, yes, it's a mandate against President Trump. But it was him,
37:20his personality, who made him president in 2016, and who made him president again in 2024. So I think
37:27the buck stops with him. And I guess the Republicans, we have to get in the ditch, roll up our
37:33sleeves,
37:33and start to see what do we do next? Is it going to be J.D. Vance, or is it
37:36going to be Marco Rubio,
37:37or somebody else who wants to run for president? And, but you have to realize the mega base is a
37:43very
37:43strong base. And I think President Trump is still going to be... Hasn't the base shifted, Puneet?
37:48Oh, no, no, no, no. Hasn't that... You won't say that? No, no.
37:52Despite multiple states flipping, you have, you know, Texas flipped since 1988. It was,
37:58it had never turned blue. This time it has. Unfortunately, the people did not show up.
38:04And you have to also write to Rico. When he campaigns, he speaks as if he has the Bible in
38:09his hand.
38:10But I can guarantee you, most of the Democrats, they talk like moderates,
38:14but they vote like leftists, communists. And that means more taxes, higher energy bills.
38:19And I'll talk about Virginia. If the Governor Spanberger, who's, again, a Democrat,
38:25if she really wanted to put relief on Virginians, she would have removed the gas tax. And that would
38:32have made it much easier. But no, she hasn't done that. And you can see the prices in California,
38:35the gas prices. So this is all... But why would she? Politically,
38:39it would not have worked for her to have done that. It works for her to have the prices up
38:45and win
38:45the election. Puneet, everybody is going to strategize and have that. It is never about the
38:53people. These elections, look at them. Look at the decisions that have been taken. President Trump
39:00came promising better economy. Your economy actually is in a tumble right now. It's on a
39:08downward slope. It requires recovery. And he did promise, he did, Puneet, he did promise that he
39:16will not take America to war. In fact, if anything, I with certainty would use to speak of the fact
39:24that
39:24Trump is somebody who is not going to take his country to war. All presidents have taken the
39:30country to war. And I actually thought he was anti-war to the extent that he would not do it.
39:34But he has. But you have to realize, Gita, this war we inherited, the war was already going on.
39:40And we have been at war with Iran for 47 years. They have attacked us multiple times. They've killed
39:46American troops. And they also were... When we took on Soleimani, because he was killing American
39:52soldiers, he was known as the road bomb expert. So this has been going on. And what you see today
39:58is that we are head to head. And most presidents have kicked the can down the road. But unfortunately,
40:05or fortunately, President Trump chose to take on the cartels, take on the bad actors. And that's
40:10what he's doing. No, but internally, he's unhappy. Puneet, isn't he unhappy that the Iran war didn't go
40:16his way, didn't go the way he had planned it? They did think that if they would have gone in,
40:22that Iran, the regime would topple, and that he would declare an immediate victory, that didn't
40:28happen. It's a prolonged war, something that America can't sustain. And he is unhappy about it.
40:34That's the reason we never wanted to go to war, because we don't want to go fight wars. And that's
40:37the reason we haven't put boots on the ground. But he did.
40:41No, no, no. But it's very important. And you have seen, and here is, Gita, very important for
40:44you to realize. First, this war didn't start by us. It was started long before. And there have been
40:49proxy wars going on. You have to recognize that. At the same time, if he really wanted to be placed
40:54safe, he could have bombed Iran after the midterms. At the same time, you have seen how Iran or the
41:00IRGC
41:01has held their own people hostage. They have killed them. In fact, they even made them run on when they
41:07had the war with Iraq. A lot of these young boys were basically lost their limbs because they were
41:11made to run on the mines. But mind you, they've killed their own people. And that was done last year,
41:15where 45,000 people died. But at the same time, they bombed their neighbors.
41:20Incoming Democrats had a simple message for President Donald Trump after the midterm results.
41:26Lawyer up. Democrats won control of both the chambers of Congress in a stunning rebuke of
41:33the administration. This win now gives the Democrats power to limit President Donald Trump and his agenda,
41:41and much broader power to investigate the businesses his family runs. With the new majority,
41:48Democrats will take control of House committees and issuing subpoenas to the members of the
41:56administration and also the ability to conduct oversight investigation into the administration,
42:04the family and businesses ventures of President Donald Trump. So that could take up considerable time
42:10resources for Trump and his allies, forcing uncomfortable public hearings or prompting
42:17legal showdowns over subpoenas. And in a callback to Trump's first term, some Democrats have vowed to
42:24impeach him for a record third time. That's all we had in this special bulletin. We will bring you
42:31more updates as more results coming throughout the day, and we'll keep following on the U.S. midterms.