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Joe Biden in the White House
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Oliver Contreras / Sipa USA / POOL / / EPA
The relief was obvious to Joe Biden.
According to the last forecasts before the election, his first big appearance after the midterms could have been quite unpleasant.
Instead, the US President chose phrases like this: "It was a good day for democracy, a good day for America."
This was challenged, but the American people spoke, Biden said after the congressional election, in which his Democrats did better than many expected.
Not all the results are known yet, Biden explained to journalists in the President's Office on Wednesday.
But the "red wave" expected by many, i.e. a march through by the opposition Republicans, "didn't happen".
The incumbent sees himself confirmed in his political course.
"I'm not going to change anything fundamentally," said Biden when asked if he believed the country was on the right track.
Historically, the so-called midterms, halfway through a four-year presidential term, are a kind of interim report – on which the ruling party usually does rather poorly.
The Republicans had also speculated on this and repeatedly pushed the responsibility for inflation and rising energy prices onto the Democrats during the election campaign.
Polls had supported this tactic recently.
Things looked different on election day: the Republicans only made slight gains.
Measured against the – also self-imposed – expectations, this is a disappointment.
However, the Conservatives are likely to narrowly take control of the House of Representatives.
Control of the Senate depends on three races that are still open.
The Democrats have the advantage here.
In his speech, Biden approached his political opponent after the bitter election campaign.
"I'm willing to work with the Republicans." This applies regardless of how the congressional election ends.
"I think the American people have made it clear that they expect Republicans to be willing to work with me, too," he said.
But Biden said he would veto a national abortion ban and oppose tax cuts for the wealthy.
These are two policy proposals that Republicans could potentially move forward.
After the G20 summit, he will invite leading representatives from Democrats and Republicans to the White House to discuss how to cooperate, the US President said.
Biden only sees Donald Trump's supporters as a minority among Republicans.
The voters had demonstrated in the parliamentary elections that they "don't want to go through a political battle every day," said the Democrat.
He doesn't believe that Trump's "Mega-MAGA-Republicans" can be liberated from their delusion.
But he believes "that they are a minority in the Republican Party".
When a reporter at the White House press briefing preceded a question about Trump by stating that his political movement was still strong, Biden threw in a mocking “Oh yeah?”
Declaration of candidacy not until 2023
The democrat has not yet commented on his own medium-term political future.
However, he announced that he would probably want to decide early next year whether he will run again in 2024.
He definitely intends to run again in the presidential election.
Ultimately, it is a family decision.
“I think everyone wants me to run, but we will discuss it.” He is in no hurry and will not make a decision dependent on what his predecessor is doing, he said, referring to former Republican President Donald Trump.
Biden has repeatedly said in the past that he wanted to run again for the highest office in the state.
The 79-year-old had also made it clear that such a decision would depend on his health, among other things.
In the case of the political opponent, on the other hand, a possible course setting is already becoming apparent in the near future.
Before the election on Monday, Trump announced that he wanted to make a big announcement on November 15th.
It is understood that he will then announce his candidacy for the 2024 election.
It is still unclear what the poor result in the midterms could mean for Trump's possible plans.
He had recently described his party's result as "somewhat disappointing in a way".
Trump had been omnipresent during the election campaign, attending dozens of rallies and supporting hundreds of candidates.
Many of these sometimes extreme candidates had failed in the election.
Critics therefore see the result to a certain extent as a defeat for Trumpism, which still dominates the party.
Trump challenger emerges stronger from the election
This is particularly explosive because Ron DeSantis is a real alternative to Trump within the party.
Florida's Republican governor won his re-election on Tuesday and is counted by many as one of the winners on the Republican side.
He was credited with ambitions for the White House even before his landslide victory in the former swing state of Florida.
Now he has become a real competitor for Trump.
His clumsy warning to DeSantis not to run should speak for itself.
A duel between the two has long been conjured up, and DeSantis' midterm success now makes it almost inevitable.
Because Florida could actually be a model for expanding a right-wing majority across the country.
DeSantis was not invited to Trump's last campaign appearance in Florida.
He held his own show for it – without Trump.
When asked whether he would prefer DeSantis or his predecessor Trump as a possible opponent in the 2024 presidential election, US President Biden said: "It would be fun to watch them attack each other."
jok/dpa/Reuters
