US midterms result: good for Democrats, bad for Asia, says vocal critic of Donald Trump
- ‘Surprises likely’ as blow will prompt president to act more erratically, says political scientist Ian Bremmer
- Vice-President Mike Pence unlikely to offer anything substantial during Asia visit
The noted political scientist Ian Bremmer said in an interview on the sidelines of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum that the US president’s instincts to “escalate” at his low points in politics meant Asia could face immediate uncertainties in the aftermath of the Republicans’ loss of the House of Representatives.
NBC News on Wednesday afternoon projected that Democrats would hold a 229-206 majority in the House of Representatives – seizing control of the lower house they lost in 2010 during President Barack Obama’s tenure.
Trump’s Republican Party is expected to hold on to the 100-member Senate, where 35 seats were being contested in Tuesday’s polls.
“If I were you looking at the United States, I would say a more besieged President Trump who has not succeeded in midterms is likely to act more erratically, more aggressively and potentially more dangerous for your part of the world,” said Bremmer, founder and president of Eurasia Group.
The midterm result is going to put a lot of pressure on Trump and he’s going to blame a lot of people and he’s going to lash out
He added: “What you want clearly is a predictable United States even if it is not assertive and strong, even if doesn’t care much about foreign policy, you don’t want surprises. I think the likelihood that you get surprises out of the second two years of the Trump presidency is very high.”
The result could also see the already erratic president becoming less restrained, Bremmer said.