The president is not usually available to anyone who wants to call him. But on election night, Politico reporter Dasha Burns reached Donald Trump during a live broadcast to ask about the midterm results.
Commenting on the call, Pat Gray argued that putting someone on air without permission is illegal. Jeff Fisher suggested Trump and Burns may have arranged the conversation beforehand. Gray disagreed, saying the exchange seemed to happen naturally.
Asked why Republicans had struggled, Trump said he had not been on the ballot and that the party had failed to get enough voters out. “If I was on the ballot, we would have won,” he said, adding that Republicans would have won easily.
Burns asked whether some Republican candidates had fallen short. Trump said he did not want to blame anyone, describing the election period as interesting and saying he had watched closely and learned from it.
He also said he would work with Democrats to help the country, noting that they had already contacted him. Trump said he had the power to veto legislation but did not want to spend the next two years simply blocking proposals. Democrats, he added, also wanted to get things done.
Asked whether he would consider an immigration agreement with Democrats, Trump said he would consider whatever he believed was right for the country.
Burns then asked how the results might affect the administration’s final two years. Trump replied that he would be able to say more in a year.
Gray said the call demonstrated how accessible Trump was, while Fisher remarked that Trump was criticized for that quality.
