President Trump called for bipartisanship and congeniality between his government and Congress the day after Democrats won control of the House, and said he thinks he’ll be able to work closely with Democrats on a range of issues.
“There are many things we can get along on without a lot of trouble,” Trump said in the East Room of the White House Wednesday. “I would like to see bipartisanship. I’d like to see unity. And I think that we have a very good chance, maybe not on everything. But we have a very good chance of seeing that.”
It’s a far cry from his past criticism of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who Trump pointed to as a threat to his agenda while campaigning for Republicans across the country. Democrats are equally riled up against Trump, and many are pushing for the House to impeach him next year.
Pelosi, the frontrunner to become the next speaker of the House in the new Congress, has made it clear she’s not a fan of an immediate move to impeach Trump. But that might still allow Democrats to take other steps, such as launch new investigations into Trump from various committees.
Trump responded to that possibility by arguing that Senate Republicans would counterpunch with their own set of investigations into Democrats.
Those early blows could make it hard to forge a new relationship, but Trump this week was trying. Trump started Wednesday morning with a tweet supporting House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for the next speaker of the House.
“In all fairness, Nancy Pelosi deserves to be chosen Speaker of the House by the Democrats. If they give her a hard time, perhaps we will add some Republican votes. She has earned this great honor!” he tweeted.
In all fairness, Nancy Pelosi deserves to be chosen Speaker of the House by the Democrats. If they give her a hard time, perhaps we will add some Republican votes. She has earned this great honor!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
Late Tuesday evening, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence made a round of calls to Republican and Democratic leadership to offer them congratulations on their respective House and Senate victories.
“Tonight, President Trump called Leader Mitch McConnell to congratulate him on the historic senate gains. He also spoke with Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
The president also made calls to Republicans who snagged crucial Senate and gubernatorial victories.
“The President called to congratulate Rick Scott, Mike DeWine, Kevin Cramer, Josh Hawley, Brian Kemp, and Ron DeSantis. Lastly, the President talked to Sen. Chuck Schumer. He and the Vice President will continue to make calls tonight and tomorrow,” Sanders said.
