On the day after, Donald Trump came looking for a fight. A 90 minute (!) news conference at The White House started with a pablum statement and then the questions began, and so did the fireworks. CNN’S Jake Tapper described it like this:
“What we saw here was a president who clearly feels threatened and was responding by threatening. He threatened Democrats. He threatened the news media. And he made it very clear no matter how many times he kept saying that he had a tremendous night. it was close to a complete victory. He knew in his heart that was not true.”
The questions are the same ones most Americans have been asking, such as why call a migrant caravan an “invasion”? Excellent question. But when Trump is cornered he becomes a bully.
Here are some of the most significant exchanges:
WHETHER THE MIDTERMS WERE A SUCCESS FOR THE GOP:
“It was a big day yesterday, incredible day and last night the Republican party defied history to expand our Senate majority while significantly beating expectations in the house.”
Trump said the candidates he supported achieved “tremendous success” last night. Here’s a full list of how the candidates he endorsed fared in the midterms: https://t.co/wRL0SpOGMA pic.twitter.com/RbFa79Z1yP
— POLITICO (@politico) November 7, 2018
WORKING WITH NANCY PELOSI:
“I really respected what Nancy said last night about bipartisanship and getting together and uniting. She used the word uniting and she used the bipartisanship statement which is so important because that’s what we should be doing. So we can look at us, they can look at us. Then we can look at them and it’ll go back and forth and it’ll probably be very good for me politically. I could see it being extremely good politically because I think I‘m better at that game than they are actually, but we’ll find out. I mean, you know, we’ll find out or we can work together. You can’t do them simultaneous, by the way.”
HOW THE COUNTRY VIEWS HIM:
“I think people like me, I think people like the job I’m doing.”
HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MEDIA
Things took a rather dramatic turn as Jim Acosta asked Trump a question. The President said, “you’re a very rude person. the way you treat Sarah Huckabee is horrible. You shouldn’t treat people that way.”
Trump rips CNN reporter Jim Acosta after question about migrant caravan: "CNN should be ashamed of itself having you working for them. You are a rude, terrible person." pic.twitter.com/36F8EQBVT9
— Axios (@axios) November 7, 2018
Then as NBC’s Peter Alexander tried to defense Acosta, Trump attacked him as well.
"I'm not a big fan of yours, either," Trump tells NBC's Peter Alexander when the reporter tries to defend CNN's Jim Acosta https://t.co/RqaLXGd5Tw pic.twitter.com/TYFHOYt6H8
— Variety (@Variety) November 7, 2018
Trump repeatedly tells April Ryan to “sit down” when she tries to ask him a question pic.twitter.com/6Th5pBxQtU
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 7, 2018
CNN responded to the attacks on the media.
CNN’s response to @realDonaldTrump’s press conference today: pic.twitter.com/tJ3nZDnYwO
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) November 7, 2018
CALLING HIMSELF A NATIONALIST
.@Yamiche asked a fair and important question about whether Trump's embrace of the "nationalist" label is an embrace of "white nationalism."
Trump replied by saying, repeatedly, "That's such a racist question," and told Yamiche, "What you just said is so insulting to me."
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) November 7, 2018
President Trump to @Yamiche: "That's a racist question." pic.twitter.com/4bgrMjQFZk
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 7, 2018
THE WALL
.@MajorCBS: Are you prepared to go on a shutdown strategy [to secure more border funding] during the lame-duck since this might be your last best chance?
President Trump: Not necessarily…I can't commit to that but it's possible. https://t.co/X38nyefXC9 pic.twitter.com/qNCtjh3L0d
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 7, 2018
HIS TAX RETURNS
Asked if he would release his tax returns if Democrats choose to investigate them, Trump said they're still under audit. “Nobody turns over a return when it’s under audit,” he said, adding when and if the audit is finished he would “certainly have an open mind to it. pic.twitter.com/FXeTalXyro
— POLITICO (@politico) November 7, 2018
Watch Trump’s full remarks above.