Press abroad almost unanimously sees the election as a defeat for Trump, but is divided on whether he is now a lame duck

On the morning after the congressional election, media in many countries read the result as a defeat for President Trump. They differ on whether he loses power as a result. The basis is projections by the AP and broadcasters, according to which the Democrats win the Senate and the House of Representatives. There is no official final result yet.

Largely agreed: a rebuke for Trump. The Argentine newspaper La Nación (7:43 CET) has collected the headlines of foreign media. According to its overview, the Guardian and Sky News in Britain speak of a rejection of Trump, El País in Spain of a harsh punishment, El Mundo in Spain and La Repubblica in Italy of a blue wave, O Globo in Brazil of a historic defeat. Le Monde in France highlights that Trump accepts the result. The Times of Israel sees the Iran war as the decisive factor.

Lame duck: yes. The South Korean business broadcaster SBS Biz (7:48 CET) writes that the risk of an early lame-duck phase has increased. The Democrats are likely to use the committees for investigations against the administration. A post on the Chinese portal ifeng (7:07 CET, from a user account, not a state medium) expects legislative gridlock, investigations and budget disputes to become the norm.

Lame duck: no. John Lyons, America editor of the Australian broadcaster ABC (6:33 CET), calls the result devastating for Trump. He rejects the talk of a lame duck: “Nothing could be further from the truth.” Trump still has two years in office, he says, and can govern by decree, bypassing Congress. What is dangerous above all is the foreign policy of a wounded president.

Muted expectations in Europe and Ukraine. The Spanish portal Demócrata (6:36 CET, Alberto López) writes that Europe gains counterweights in Congress, but no change of course. Tariffs would not fall automatically, and new Ukraine aid is not certain because Trump keeps his veto. The newspaper elDiario.es (6:13 CET, Andrés Gil) reports that Trump has again threatened to stop congressional initiatives with his veto. The Ukrainian portal Telegraf (6:10 CET, Olena Rudenko) expects better chances in Congress, but no fundamental change in the administration's Ukraine policy before the next presidential election. It quotes the member of parliament Yaroslav Zhelezniak as saying that a new reality is beginning in the US, hopefully a better one for Ukraine.

The reading as a defeat for Trump is thus widespread. The media are divided on whether the president will now be held back or act all the more freely in foreign policy. These are the assessments of the respective media. What the new Congress can do from January is in the timeline.