THE DEMOCRATS WON control of both the House and the Senate in the US in an emphatic, dramatic landslide overnight. 

President Donald Trump’s domestic legislative stronghold has been dismantled – but what does it mean for the international community? And more specifically, what does it mean for Ireland? 

While there are celebrations among some commentators over the result, within the Irish government there is a more cautious approach, with some worried that it could actually be bad for both Ireland and Europe. 

A number of political sources have warned that Trump may try to show more muscle with his foreign policies as his domestic power has been diluted. 

Those The Journal spoke to noted how the midterm swing towards the Democrats is good domestically in the US, but it could yield some unpredictable results when it comes to Trump and the actions he takes abroad. 

While one senior government source saw the positives, noting that Ireland has friends on both sides of the aisle having always engaged with both Republicans and Democrats, another said they are worried about the consequences of the midterm election results. 

They said that Trump is reactionary and has already alluded to escalating attacks on Iran after the midterms. They raised the possibility that the US president could also seek to end that conflict or the war in Ukraine “in haste”. 

Doing so, without having a proper plan in place, might have less than ideal consequences, they warned. 

They also pointed to how this result is unlikely to change Trump’s policies on tariffs either. 

Additional concerns were expressed about what legislation might be moved under a “lame-duck session”, which is a session of Congress held after an election, before the newly elected members take office. 

The outgoing Congress keeps its full constitutional powers until the day its term ends in January, with one source pointing to how the members who lost or retired are still in charge until then. 

‘Massive concern’

The uncertainty as to how Trump will react is a “massive concern”, particularly in Europe, said one source who stated that it is being monitored closely. 

Others within the government noted that losing the House is a huge blow to Trump’s domestic powers, and speculated that Trump may try to shift the blame when it comes to the Iran war. 

There is a view that Trump will need a distraction and may escalate the war with Iran, which is of particular concern when it comes to rising energy prices worldwide, including in Ireland.  

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Media reports from the US today state that Trump has said he has no immediate plans to strike Iran after the midterms, saying he remains open to a binding agreement. 

Taking a different view, Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson said “the results will have positive implications, not just domestically in the United States, but across the world given the hugely damaging impact of Trump’s disastrous foreign and economic policies”. 

She said the “comprehensive defeat of Trump and his divisive and cruel brand of politics is a beacon of hope and light, not just for the American people but globally”.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said people will analyse and study the trends and the factors underpinning the change.

“I would have thought from my initial reading of accounts that the war in Iran was a real factor in terms of the conservation of American voters and the high prices and inflation in the US for a number of reasons,” he said. 

“I’m not so sure that you can just neatly characterise the election as just one area around technology and oligarchs. And I would just sound a note of caution in terms of how one interprets the outcome of any given election,” he added.