Biden: Red wave "didn't happen"
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President Biden conducts a news conference at the White House on Nov. 9. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
President Biden on Wednesday said the "giant red wave" that some predicted would come during the midterm elections "didn't happen."
Driving the news: "This was supposed to be a red wave," Biden said during a news conference at the White House. "You guys were talking about us losing 30 to 50 seats. ... That's not going to happen."
- "It was a good day, I think, for democracy," he said in his opening, calling back to his closing address to voters last week.
State of play: Control of the Senate remains undetermined Wednesday evening and the House appears to be leaning right, though still uncalled.
- But key Republican candidates lost their races and former President Trump is facing the blame.
- Many of the candidates Trump backed were defeated or struggled in their races, including Mehmet Oz who lost the Pennsylvania Senate race to Democrat John Fetterman.
- "I don't think we're going to break the fever for the super-mega MAGA Republicans," Biden said. "I think they're a minority of the Republican Party. I think the vast majority of the members of the Republican Party — we disagree strongly on issues — but they're decent, honorable people."
What he's saying: Biden said he's prepared to work with his Republican colleagues but "the American people made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans be prepared to work with me as well."
- "The future of America is too promising to be trapped in endless political warfare," he said, adding that Americans don’t want "every day going forward to be a constant political battle."
- As such, he said he would be talking to House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) later Wednesday.
- When asked what he intends to do to change people's perception of the country heading in the wrong direction, Biden said "I'm not going to change anything in any fundamental way."
Go deeper: The red wave that wasn't
Editor's note: This article has been corrected to reflect that House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is from California, not Kentucky.
