- 22 minutes ago
The Democratic Party secured majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the United States midterm elections, altering the balance of power in Washington. The election outcome flipped traditional Republican strongholds, with Democrat James Talarico defeating Ken Paxton in Texas, Sherrod Brown defeating Jon Husted in Ohio, and Roy Cooper winning in North Carolina. In Ohio's gubernatorial race, Democrat Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. Prominent Indian-American candidates recorded key wins, including Pia Dandia, Suhas Subramanyam, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, and Shri Thanedar, who pointed to voter dissatisfaction regarding inflation, living costs, tariffs, and military involvement in Iran. In response to the congressional shift, President Donald Trump stated he would accept the results and engage with Democrats, while signaling the potential deployment of presidential veto powers. Democratic control of Congress introduces legislative oversight on executive actions, creating procedural limits on the administration's policy initiatives and budget proposals.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
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.