𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Donald Trump’s enemies are celebrating today. The US president suffered a thumping in the US midterm elections.

Officially, his name wasn’t on the ballot paper. But heavy losses for his Republican Party, and gains for the Democrats, are seen as a verdict on his presidency. And with the Democrats firmly in control of the Senate and House of Representatives, his power has been reduced – in theory, at least.

His opponents in Congress can now block legislation from the White House, perhaps preventing the president from carrying out some of his madder schemes. But America’s political system is complex. Donald Trump can, in turn, veto laws proposed by his Democrat opponents. And he is still able to issue “executive orders”, which allow him to make decisions in his role as president.

Mr Trump will push his executive powers to their limit, stretching the US Constitution as far as it will go to ensure he gets his way. And the great danger for the UK is that he will be so angry and determined to prove he is still in charge that his final years in the White House, with presidential elections due in November 2028, could be even more erratic than what we’ve seen so far.

That increases the risk of more wars. Donald Trump likes to present himself as a peacemaker who ends conflict across the globe. But he started a violent conflict with Iran, which he has no idea how to end.

This has pushed up energy prices globally, which not only means higher household fuel bills here in Britain, but has also increased the price of basic items such as food. He also launched a military strike on Venezuela, which turned out successfully from his perspective but may embolden him to try further interventions in South America.

And the president is desperate to end the war between Ukraine and Russia – but appears unable or unwilling to put pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin. His idea of putting a stop to the fighting involves pressuring Ukraine to surrender, something the UK is desperate to prevent because our Government believes it would only encourage Putin to look for a new target.

In addition, Mr Trump wants to show the American public that his policy of imposing tariffs on imports from countries such as the UK has been a success, and hasn’t just pushed up prices at home. This could mean doubling down on the policy, hitting our exporters further.

Furthermore, he wants to expand US territory, and has suggested Canada and Greenland should join the US.

Mr Trump has managed to obtain a new deal giving the US a bigger role in defending Greenland, though it’s debatable whether this marks a real change from the deal that existed long before he became president. But his sabre-rattling damaged relations between the US and NATO allies – including Canada and Denmark, which owns Greenland.

With the rest of NATO increasingly concerned about the threat from Russia, the last thing the UK wants is for the White House to further undermine the alliance.

Donald Trump is unpredictable at the best of times. We don’t know whether his election humiliation will cause him to calm down, or act up further.

But he’s not one to go down without a fight. And one thing we know from his time in office so far is that Donald Trump’s idea of fighting involves making the rest of the world, not least America’s so-called allies such as the UK, poorer and less safe.