Trump says Republicans lost because he was not on the ballot

President Trump offered congratulations to Democrats on their midterm wins during an election night phone interview with CBS News, saying he expects to cooperate with the party.

“My message is, congratulations to the Democrats, and I look forward to working with you for the good of our country,” he said, according to CBS News.

Mr. Trump said he knows many Democrats and is confident disagreements can be settled. “I have total veto power and I’m sure we’ll be able to work things out,” he said. He added that he believes Democrats will want to deal with him, and said: “Otherwise I’d just veto everything and they’re not gonna want that.”

The president blamed Republican losses largely on his name not appearing on the ballot. “I feel that I wasn’t on the ballot, and there was nothing that could be done about that,” he said. “If I was, we would have won.”

He also cited the quality of some candidates and the mood of the party’s base. “In some cases they didn’t like the candidates, and in some cases those candidates were not my friend and the base knows that better than anybody,” he said.

Asked whether he was upset, Mr. Trump said he “tried hard” and “left it on the field.” He said he had tried to help Republican candidates win and that voters did not turn out as they should have. “It’s just one of those things, you know? It’s a point in time,” he said.

In a separate remark to CBS News, he addressed the Iran war, saying it would be over “when I say it’s over, basically.” He added: “It’ll end when I say it ends.”

The Bureau of Useless Measurement notes that a veto, unlike a handshake, requires no cooperation from the other party, and that the Constitution assigns the power to declare war to someone other than the president alone.