Midterm carnage weakens Trump but he still wields power for now

On Tuesday night, Trump posted on social media and spoke to a series of media outlets, saying in realtime how he would deal with the Democrats – pledging co-operation one moment, and threatening vetoes of liberal legislation in the next.

Then on Wednesday, as construction workers raised the final beam for the White House ballroom he is building despite a lawsuit attempting to halt its progress, he responded to a few questions about the political future.

“I’ll get along probably with the Democrats, unless they want to be destructive,” he said. “But I have the power of the veto.”

In 1995, months after Republicans took control of Congress in a wave election that left Democrats similarly reeling, an isolated and defensive President Bill Clinton insisted that he still mattered and that he had powers left to wield.

“The president is still relevant here,” he said, plaintively.

Clinton, still in his first term, had time to rebound politically – and he won re-election the following year.

Time, however, is not on Trump’s side.

With Republicans licking their wounds, he may try to make a similar argument to the powers in Washington and the American public.

But with each passing day, the man who loves to dominate the spotlight in US politics may find his powers – and, more importantly, his authority to wield them – slipping through his fingers.