CHAPTER
ONE
8
A Combative Style
In the November 2018 midterm elections, American voters de-
livered a blow to the Trump administration, switching control of
the House of Representatives from Republicans to Democrats.
With committee chairs changing hands, Democrats now prom-
ised to conduct far-reaching investigations of Trump, from his al-
leged collusion with Russia in the 2016 election to his tax returns
and business dealings prior to (and after) becoming president.
The day after the midterms, Trump addressed a White House
news conference in his usual combative style. Despite loss of the
House, he pointed to Republican gains in the Senate and charac-
terized the election as close to a total victory. He mocked Repub-
licans who had rejected his support on the campaign trail—and
lost. He called a CNN reporter “a rude, terrible person.”
5
When
asked if his embrace of the label “nationalist” encouraged white
supremacist groups, he attacked the reporter for asking what he
called a racist question. He warned that if House Democrats in-
sisted on investigating him, “then we’re going to do the same
thing [to them], then government comes to a halt and I blame
them.”
6
Clearly, Trump had no intention of admitting defeat. His
aggressive response to the election setback was typical of his
governing approach from the start.
Wading into Controversy
Trump seems to delight in baiting his critics and wading into
controversy. His campaign slogan, Make America Great Again—
shortened to MAGA on his supporters’ bright red ball caps—
