US President Donald Trump had said in an election rally in September that in the upcoming midterm elections, you should assume that my name is on the ballot papers.
That is, in a way he tried to say that no matter who your candidate is, you should assume that your vote is for President Trump.
President Trump has suffered a major political setback in this week's election results. His Republican Party has lost control over both houses of the US Parliament, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The opposition Democratic Party has won a big victory in both the houses.
The results of these elections affect the political power of the American President. This is the reason why these elections become important for the whole world. These results can also have an impact on world diplomacy, international trade and America's partnerships with countries like India.
So the question is, why were the voters angry with Trump and what do these election results mean for India?
With this victory of the Democratic Party, India faces some new opportunities from the diplomatic point of view and also challenges regarding its future strategy.
America is one of India's most important and comprehensive partners. There has been cooperation between the two countries on many issues like trade, technology, economic development and regional security. But this election defeat of Trump may change the political environment of America.
At present, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have two opportunities to meet Trump.
First, the East Asia Summit to be held in Manila this month and second, the G-20 summit to be held in Miami in December.
Through these meetings, India will have an opportunity to give a new direction to India-US relations which have been going through ups and downs for some time.
So the first question is whether this changed balance of power can impose any restrictions on the decisions of the US administration regarding trade, tariffs and international conflicts?
Outside America, will these results also change the direction of global diplomacy? Will America's allies and its rivals reevaluate their relationships with it?
And with Trump weakening in domestic politics, can America's attitude towards the world also change?
On these questions, Collective Newsroom's Director of Journalism Mukesh Sharma spoke to Washington-based journalist Iram Abbasi, London-based journalist Zubair Ahmed and former Indian Ambassador to America Arun Kumar.
How is the atmosphere in America after the results of midterm elections?
Washington-based journalist Iram Abbasi said, "Corruption has also been a big issue in the Trump administration. You look at all the analyzes and election surveys, even in my own conversations with voters, corruption has come up as an important issue."
He further said that America's support to Israel was also a big issue in these elections. The kind of discussion and disagreement seen among voters regarding American support for Israel and the economic aid given to it was rarely seen before in American political history.
Vice President JD Vance also openly said that we lost because people did not vote for him because of the Iran war and inflation. Current House Speaker Mike Johnson, who will remain in this post till January, has also said that he will not take part in any House race in the future.
Even before the election, many Republican candidates distanced themselves from Trump's policies regarding immigration and the Iran war.
How are these results being viewed in the American media?
In response to this question, Abbasi says, "It depends on which media organization you are looking at. As soon as Trump got the election results, he went on Fox News and reprimanded the channel. He alleged that because of the channel's coverage and wrong data, the election results went against him."
He further said, "Concerning CNN, it had told its viewers about an hour before the Associated Press (AP) that control of both houses of Congress was going to the Democratic Party. At that time, AP had not yet officially announced the results of the election contests. If you look at the media organizations leaning towards the liberal or Democratic Party, there is an atmosphere of happiness about these results."
He told that if we look at the coverage of New York Times and other big news organizations, there is a different kind of discussion there. In comparison to the political environment created by Trump in Washington and across America in the last two years, many liberal-leaning newspapers are now showing hope. The analyzes also highlight that America has the potential to reform its political system and correct its mistakes.
What will be the impact of Trump's defeat on the global level?
After these results, will President Trump's decision-making ability be affected at the global level?
In response to this question, London-based journalist Zubair Ahmed says, "The election results clearly mean that the Republican Party has lost its majority in Congress. Because of this, the next two years may be difficult for President Trump. In political language, he will now be in a 'sitting duck' situation, that is, his power and decision-making ability will not be the same as before. However, this is true mainly in the context of domestic policies."
"As far as foreign policy is concerned, the President still has a lot of authority and power to take decisions. For example, if we talk about tariffs, till now Trump has been imposing tariffs on other countries as per his wish. He has also imposed tariffs on India as per his wish."
He further says that in the current situation, if the President wants to wage war again against Iran or attack it tomorrow, then Congress does not have the direct power to stop him from doing so.
It is certain that if America has to continue the war in the coming days, it will need money and for this the administration will have to approach Congress.
Now that the Republican Party has lost its majority in Congress, the Trump administration may face difficulties in passing bills and budgets. In such a situation, it may be challenging for them to continue the war for a long time.
Because the newly elected representatives will take oath on January 3. And after this the Democrats will have the majority in Congress.
Apart from this, there are also seven MPs elected in the Senate and House of Representatives who are supporters of Palestine. He won this election by raising his voice against America's policies regarding war and Israel.
This means that the public has supported him and elected him and sent him to Parliament.
Now they can raise the question in Congress and both its houses as to why the four billion dollars of military aid given to Israel every year should be continued? This aid should be stopped and Israel should be curbed.
In such a situation, there may be pressure on American policy regarding the ongoing war in Gaza.
However, he also says that according to him, when Joe Biden from the Democratic Party became President after Trump's first term, he supported Israel more strongly. So even though the Democrats will have the lead in Congress, it seems unlikely that there will be any major change regarding Israel.
According to Washington-based journalist Iram Abbasi, Trump's supporters accused him of blaming the Ukraine war for inflation. At the same time, they also do not want the war in Ukraine to continue and America to continue supporting it.
Talking on this, Zubair Ahmed says that for the last one and a half years, America has been pressurizing Ukraine to make an agreement with Russia, but Ukraine is not ready for it. He believes that after the election results, the pressure from America to end the war on Ukraine and reach a compromise with Russia may increase further.
What will be the impact of these results on India?
Former Indian Ambassador to the US, Arun Kumar, says, "I don't think much will change, because the President is Trump. In the American system, the President has a lot of authority and freedom to take decisions on issues related to foreign policy."
"In these matters, he does not need the opinion or permission of Congress. Therefore, the President will take decisions on our issues like trade and H-1B visas. In this respect, these election results will not have a direct impact as of now."
He further says that we have to see how President Trump takes the defeat of the Republican Party. This can also be considered as his personal defeat. In such a situation, what message does he take from these results? Should they change their policies or exercise some leniency?
A very important aspect of the relations between India and America is the trade talks currently going on between the two countries. If we look at these election results in the context of trade talks, will there be any impact on it?
Will President Trump have to be a little more cautious in trade negotiations now that the Democrats are in control of Congress?
In response to this question, he says that there will be no impact on this, because the President himself can take decisions on the trade agreement being negotiated. For this he does not need the consent of Congress.
If there was a treaty, he would have to go to Congress. But the kind of trade agreement currently under discussion does not require Congress's approval.
The second thing is that if President Trump faces any setback in the elections, then it is possible that he may try to show some successes on the foreign policy front.
He says, "In such a situation, if he signs a trade agreement with India quickly, he can present it as a success. Therefore, I think at the moment these results are not likely to have any negative impact on the trade agreement."
President Trump is considered to take unpredictable decisions in many ways, so will there be any change in his policy regarding the ongoing conflict with Iran? Its economic impact falls on the entire world and India as well. There is another question related to this. Can these election results have any major impact on restrictions related to energy and fuel supply?
On this, Arun Kumar says, "We will have to keep a careful eye on this. Many people have said that the ongoing war with Iran since February has had a negative impact on President Trump in the elections. You must have seen that Vice President JD Vance had also issued a statement yesterday, in which he admitted that the Iran war has had a negative impact on America."
"In such a situation, if President Trump is thinking keeping in mind the future of the Republican Party, then he will have to decide what to do next regarding the war. At present the war is not in a very active phase. In such a situation, it can be expected that he will move towards some diplomatic and political solution."
"In 2001, America removed the Taliban from power, but in 2021 the Taliban returned to power. Therefore, war is not the solution to every problem."
