After midterms, midtown Manhattan ‘happy’ for the new ‘check’ on Trump

New Yorkers and visitors in Manhattan voiced optimism on Wednesday (November 4) after Democrats made gains in midterm congressional elections, with some saying the results could curb President Donald Trump’s agenda.

“I feel very happy about the election,” said Mac Compton, a New York City shoeshiner. 

Referring to Trump, he added: “He just can’t roll over people the way he was rolling over.”

“Hopefully we can get a Democratic president in two more years, and we can change some things around,” he said.

Lana Hure, visiting New York for work, said she was “very happy” with the outcome and hoped for increased US support for Ukraine and the end of war in Iran.

“I think we need a lot of change,” said Yves Ringler, a New York City resident and US citizen originally from Belgium.

Democrats seized control of both the Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday (November 3), scoring sweeping victories in Republican strongholds for the first time in generations as tens of millions of voters delivered a scathing rebuke to President Donald Trump.

Voters in conservative bastions who had propelled the president to his second term in office just two years ago swung dramatically toward Democrats, fueled by deep frustration over the unpopular war with Iran, anxiety over the high cost of living and anger at Trump’s stewardship of the country.

Democrats flipped more than two dozen House seats currently held by Republicans, locking in a majority. Democrats won all the closely contested House races that have been decided so far, and they won about a dozen races in districts that Trump won by double digits two years ago.

The results will usher in a new era of divided government in Washington, following two years in which the Republican-controlled Congress rarely exercised its power to rein in Trump.