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China officially ‘doesn’t care’ about Trump win; unofficially, experts say Beijing is rattled

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan —Theofficial response from Xi Jinping’s communist China to President-elect Trump’s victory was formulaic.

‘Our policy towards the U.S. is consistent,’ foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters Wednesday afternoon. ‘We will continue to view and handle China-U.S. relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful co-existence and win-win cooperation.’ 

National Taiwan University Department of Philosophy professor Yuan Juzheng returned to Taiwan from a trip to China Monday, where, he noted, nearly everyone he met with wanted to talk about the U.S. election. He told Fox News Digital a Trump win is a ‘worst-case scenario’ for Beijing. China experts, as well as Chinese citizens online, believe the next four years under President-elect Trump will almost certainly worsen already strained ties.

During the campaign, Trump made it abundantly clear he would adopt a tariff-based approach to trade with China. Professor Yuan explained that China had ‘not been prepared psychologically’ when, around 2018, President Trump hit huge Chinese companies such as Huawei with tariffs.

But this time around, Yuan says, China knows how much such policies will hurt, and they will come at a time when China’s domestic economy is not doing well. 

‘Three key issues will continue to dominate the U.S.-China relationship. They are the three T’s — trade, technology and Taiwan,’ Zhiqun Zhu, a professor of political science and international relations at Bucknell University, told Fox News Digital a few hours before Trump’s stunning triumph became official. 

On Wednesday, Taiwan President William Lai wrote on X, ‘Sincere congratulations to President-elect @realDonaldTrump on your victory. I’m confident that the longstanding # Taiwan – #US partnership, built on shared values & interests, will continue to serve as a cornerstone for regional stability & lead to greater prosperity for us all.’ 

Taiwanese Vice President Bi-khim Hsiao, also via X, added, ‘I join President Lai in offering my congratulations to President Trump, VP-elect Vance, and the American people. Looking forward building a strong Taiwan-US partnership, for freedom, peace, and economic prosperity.’

The Taiwanese public has had mixed views about the U.S. election. Some here find Trump’s often brash and blunt personality unappealing. One recent poll showed over 50% of the Taiwanese preferred Harris to Trump. However, many Taiwanese have also said they viewed Trump as potentially ‘better for Taiwan,’ mostly due to an expectation that he will take a hard line on China. That expectation is shared on the other side of the Taiwan Strait. 

Ross Darrell Feingold, a Taipei-based lawyer and commentator on local and regional politics, is among a small group of Americans living in Taiwan who are active on TouTiao, a Chinese information platform owned by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. With over 150 million daily users, TouTiao could be likened to a hybrid of Facebook and X. 

On the Sunday before the U.S. election, Feingold posted a question on TouTiao that was finally allowed to be published after some rewording due to China’s strict internet controls. 

‘As a Chinese person, do you think Trump or Kamala Harris will be more harmful to China-US relations?’ he wrote.

More than 30,000 people viewed the question, and roughly 5,500 provided a variety of answers that included some direct support for Democratic nominee Harris, whom Chinese netizens have given the nickname ‘Ha Ha Sister,’ a reference to the vice president’s exuberant laughter. 

Feingold, however, noted the near unanimity in Chinese netizens’ comments that the U.S. is hostile toward China, and they don’t wish to see China rise to its rightful place as a global power. 

‘Based on the comments I received on TouTiao, the public in China seems to think the U.S. — led by a leader from either party — would seek to restrain China’s growth,’ Feingold told Fox News Digital. 

He added that it can be difficult to determine whether internet comments reflect genuine personal opinions or are merely the parroting of ideas from China’s state-run media. Overall, Feingold says, the Chinese public has begun to take American policies personally, interpreting them as being directed at ordinary Chinese people rather than critiques of the governing Chinese Communist Party.

Zhu, the Bucknell professor, laid it out starkly in comments to Fox News Digital, saying, ‘While over 80% of Americans surveyed view China negatively now, the positive Chinese views of America have also dropped. … What is different now than a few years ago is that many Chinese, including liberals in China, have become more critical of the United States … and believe the U.S. is not welcoming Chinese students, tourists and businesspeople.’ 

Zhu noted that some states such as Florida have cut virtually all cultural and educational exchanges with Beijing. 

Japan, which also has a tense relationship with China, offered its congratulations to Trump Wednesday. Barron’s quoted Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as saying he hoped the countries’ alliance would move ‘to new heights’ during Trump’s second term. 

In a post on X, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol both congratulated and praised Trump, writing, ‘Under your strong leadership, the future of the ROK [Republic of Korea]-U.S. alliance and America will shine brighter. Look forward to working closely with you.’ 

And despite the views of some that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un would welcome the return of Trump to the White House, there was no immediate official comment from the so-called ‘Hermit Kingdom.’ But North Korea ‘fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern sea’ hours before the U.S. election on Tuesday. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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‘Got our a–es kicked’: Dems privately fret about losing House after GOP victory in White House, Senate

Democrats are growing increasingly concerned that they will narrowly lose the House of Representatives after Republican victories in the Senate and White House.

The balance of power in the House is expected to run razor-thin no matter who wins, but sources who spoke with Fox News Digital are worried that the Democrats’ path is narrowing.

‘We’re almost certainly going to lose the House by a narrow margin,’ a senior House Democratic aide told Fox News Digital. ‘We got our a–es kicked.’

The House aide found optimism, however, in Republicans’ comparatively decisive victories in the upper chamber and presidential race.

‘If you told me [President-elect Trump] won the popular vote, dominated the electoral college, and they could end up with 56 seats in the Senate, this House map is really not too bad,’ they said.

A person familiar with House Democratic campaigns told Fox News Digital, ‘If last night is any indication of how the House will flip, I don’t feel confident. The American people are clearly not buying what we’re selling.’

‘I think it comes down to the economy, honestly,’ the second source said. ‘People feel like they could have more in their bank account.’

As of early Wednesday afternoon, Republicans led Democrats by nearly two dozen projected race wins, according to The Associated Press.

The winning party must take 218 of 435 House races to control the chamber, and there are those on the Democratic side still holding out hope but acknowledging the margins would be thin.

‘I think Democrats are still hopeful…there’s a chance to get some flips to get a narrow majority,’ longtime Democratic strategist Joel Rubin told Fox News Digital. 

Rubin pointed to toss-up seats in California and New York that still have not been called, which are currently held by Republican incumbents, as well as an open seat in Maryland that Democrats are fighting to keep.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York also remained hopeful on Wednesday afternoon.

‘As a result of the enduring strength of our battle-tested incumbents, critical open seat holds in Virginia and Michigan, victories in Alabama and Louisiana and flipping four Republican-held seats in New York this year, the House remains very much in play,’ Jeffries said in a statement.

‘The path to take back the majority now runs through too close to call pick-up opportunities in Arizona, Oregon and Iowa – along with several Democratic-leaning districts in Southern California and the Central Valley.’

Jeffries, who is likely to become House Speaker if Democrats win, vowed his caucus would ‘continue to govern with common sense and conviction.’

Democrats are poised to unseat two Republican incumbents – New York Reps. Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams – so far in their quest to win the majority.

Meanwhile, Republicans are projected to take control of the open Michigan seat that was vacated by Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin. Reps. Matt Cartwright and Susan Wild, vulnerable Democrats in Pennsylvania, conceded their races to their respective Republican challengers.

On the presidential level, Democrats – including those in the House – have already started pointing fingers.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, a pragmatic Democrat from New York, blamed the ‘far left’ for Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss.

‘Donald Trump has no greater friend than the far left, which has managed to alienate historic numbers of Latinos, Blacks, Asians, and Jews from the Democratic Party with absurdities like ‘Defund the Police’ or ‘From the River to the Sea’ or ‘Latinx,’’ Torres wrote on X.

‘The working class is not buying the ivory-towered nonsense that the far left is selling.’

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Yum Brands earnings miss estimates as KFC, Pizza Hut report same-store sales declines

Yum Brands on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that missed Wall Street’s expectation as same-store sales at KFC and Pizza Hut slid more than expected.

“The complex consumer environment that exists in many markets around the globe has contributed to pronounced regional sales variations, which has caused our system-sales growth to fall short of our long-term algorithm this year,” CEO David Gibbs said on the company’s conference call.

In 2022, Yum raised its long-term target to 5% unit growth, 7% system-sales growth and 8% operating profit growth.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Yum reported third-quarter net income of $382 million, or $1.35 per share, down from $416 million, or $1.46 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.37 per share.

Net sales rose 7% to $1.83 billion.

Yum’s worldwide same-store sales fell 2% in the quarter, dragged down by weaker performances at KFC and Pizza Hut, which both reported same-store sales declines of 4%.

The company’s sales have been hurt by pressures related to “geopolitical conflicts and challenged consumer sentiment,” Gibbs said in a statement.

Conflict in the Middle East has weighed on Yum’s results since the fourth quarter of last year. KFC’s same-store sales have tumbled as much as 45% over that period in the Middle East, Indonesia and Malaysia, for example.

KFC’s U.S. same-store sales slid 5% this quarter. The market is KFC’s second largest, trailing only China, but the chain has ceded market share to Popeyes in recent years. Last year, Popeyes overtook KFC as the No. 2 chicken chain in the U.S.

Executives said Tuesday that KFC will focus on value in the fourth quarter.

Pizza Hut, on the other hand, had a steeper decline in its international markets. The pizza chain saw its international same-store sales shrink 6%, while U.S. same-store sales fell just 1%. Pizza Hut has shifted to offering more discounts in China, India and some Middle Eastern countries, according to Gibbs.

Taco Bell, the gem of Yum’s portfolio, reported same-store sales growth of 4%. The launch of the Cheesy Street Chalupas, the return of the Big Cheez-It and the rollout of a $7 value meal boosted Taco Bell’s sales during the quarter.

Gibbs said Taco Bell led the industry in the third quarter in value perception among all fast-food consumers, helping its sales even during an industrywide slowdown.

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Better to miss conference title game? At-large teams may prefer that playoff path

With no protections for conference runners-up, an SEC or Big Ten team might be better off not playing in a conference championship game that risks injuries and an additional loss.
With two losses overall but just one SEC loss, Texas A&M and LSU could be in danger of playoff snub if either suffered a third loss in SEC championship game.
CFP boss says a conference runner-up won’t be ‘unduly penalized’ for losing conference championship, but that’s open to interpretation.

The clubhouse becomes the safest place at golf tournaments played on a perilous course. Post your score, and get off the course before conditions worsen. Hacking away in elements nasty to scores can wreck your leaderboard position.

A similar theory takes shape in this inaugural year of the 12-team College Football Playoff.

If a team, particularly in the SEC or Big Ten, has established a playoff résumé after 12 regular-season games, would that team be better off not qualifying for the conference championship game and not risking a loss or injuries in an additional game against a rugged conference opponent?

CFP rules reward conference champions. Five conference champions will earn playoff bids, and four will receive a first-round playoff bye.

As for conference runners-up? They’re left jockeying with others on the bubble for one of the seven at-large bids.

Conference runners-up would have to play a total of 17 games to win the national championship. A compelling case could be made that a team would be better off placing third within a strong conference and resting up on December’s first weekend, rather than playing a tough opponent in a conference championship game it might lose.

No written rule protects a conference runner-up, and nobody knows how the selection committee will approach a team that had an at-large playoff résumé entering a conference championship game, only to lose in that title tilt.

An extra loss could threaten to bounce a conference runner-up from the CFP bracket, or at least damage that team’s playoff seed.

Playoff committee members who will evaluate conference runners-up have no clear rules to guide their actions.

Better to place third, rather than second, in the SEC or Big Ten?

In one breath, CFP executive director Rich Clark says a conference runner-up won’t be “unduly penalized,” and in the next breath, he says the runner-up’s performance in a conference championship loss will be considered.

“It will be taken into account appropriately,” Clark said, “and the committee will do that in a sophisticated way.”

Hmm …

“Unduly,” “appropriately” and “sophisticated” are nebulous terms that can be molded, as necessary, to justify the committee’s selections and seeding.

CALM DOWN: The five biggest Week 10 overreactions assess the playoff

“If the third-place team is sitting out and they’re not putting it on the table and actually risking a loss in that conference championship, the committee is sophisticated enough to understand and take that into account,” Clark said.

“All wins aren’t created equal, and all losses aren’t created equal, either.”

OK, that explanation sounds promising for playoff contenders like the SEC’s LSU and Texas A&M.

Every SEC team has suffered at least one conference loss, and as many as seven SEC teams could finish 10-2 or better.

LSU and A&M each have one conference loss but two losses overall. Either could reach the SEC championship game at 10-2 and risk a third loss in Atlanta.

Would a third loss knock them from the playoff field? That depends. Clark acknowledged the committee’s evaluation of a conference runner-up may be influenced depending “on what the loss looks like.”

In other words, perhaps it’s OK to lose, but don’t dare get blown out while the conference’s other playoff contenders sit at home eating popcorn.

“How did (the runner-up) perform in that conference championship game? The committee will look at that,” Clark said.

“I wouldn’t say they get extra points because they were in the championship game, but certainly their road to get to the championship game is going to give them a boost, because clearly they had to have a pretty significantly good performance in their season to get there, so that’s going to be the boost, and then how they perform in that game will be judged, but the fact that they’re in a championship game, I don’t think that that is going to be a major data point.”

Bon appétit on that word salad.

What Clark described as a sophisticated process, I call a kangaroo court known to make up any justification necessary to rationalize selections and seeding.

The more I hear, the more I think building an at-large résumé and placing third in the SEC or Big Ten becomes the safest place – especially if the alternative is earning selection via tiebreakers into the conference championship game and playing as an underdog.

‘You want the 5-seed,’ in CFP bracket, says one coach

This conference runner-up conundrum isn’t lost on coaches.

One Power Four coach, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity to the subject, told USA TODAY Sports that if his team has at-large playoff credentials come December, he’d prefer not to play in a conference championship game and risk a résumé-damaging loss and potential injuries. He’d rather let his team’s résumé stand and await playoff selection.

Not earning selection to a conference championship game would mean surrendering the opportunity for a first-round bye. However, this coach noted that being seeded fifth in the CFP bracket, as the top at-large qualifier selected to host a first-round playoff game, would be an enviable draw.

And losing a conference championship game would not seem to benefit a team’s chances to earn the No. 5 seed.

“You want the 5-seed,” the coach said, “because then you play the 12,” which probably would be the playoff representative from a Group of Five conference. Then, “you play the 4-seed, which is the (weakest) conference winner.”

Put differently: Place third in a strong conference, sign your scorecard, and watch the conference championship games on TV while enjoying a drink at the “19th Hole.”

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Who is overvalued and undervalued in first CFP rankings?

They unveiled the brand new toy Tuesday night, and I know this is going to shock everyone, but it’s the same old show. 

The first 12-team College Football Playoff rankings are identical to the current Associated Press poll — with the exception of Ohio State and Georgia swapping No. 2 and No. 3 positions. 

Surely, that’s merely a coincidence because we’ve been told over and over how polls are meaningless in college football until the CFP rankings arrive. When all else fails, copy the media. Or is that blame the media? 

“We don’t look at the public polls,” said CFP committee chairman and Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel. 

It’s a thankless job. No matter where the ranking goes, there will be angst and anger. And Manuel, as the point of the 13-member selection committee, will take the criticism from perceived misses.

A look at the overvalued and undervalued teams in the first CFP rankings. 

Overvalued

∎ Penn State (No. 6 rank, No. 7 seed)

Best win: 21-7 vs. Illinois

Worst loss: 20-13 vs. Ohio State

Opponent record: 33-34

The skinny: I can’t get over first and goal from the 3, and running the ball three straight times into the teeth of the Ohio State defense, when quarterback Drew Allar is the key to this team winning big games. 

Penn State isn’t among the best six teams in the nation and may not be among the best 12. This team falls in line with the rest of Penn State’s teams under coach James Franklin (except 2016): stout defense, conservative offense. And a whole lot of boredom.  

∎ Texas (No. 5 rank, No. 6 seed)

Best win: 27-24 at Vanderbilt

Worst loss: 30-15 vs. Georgia

Opponent record: 40-30 (20-15, SEC) 

The skinny: The schedule strength looks solid until you dive deeper. Texas was blown out at home by Georgia and held off Vanderbilt for its most impressive win. 

Too much weight has been placed on a September win at average Michigan, and the day we start giving credit for Group of Five wins is the day the CFP poll is meaningless.   

∎ Notre Dame (No. 10 rank, No. 10 seed)

Best win: 23-13 at Texas A&M

Worst loss: 16-14 vs. NIU

Opponent record: 35-33

The skinny: Are we really going to rubber-stamp the Irish based on a season-opening win at Texas A&M?

Are we really going to overlook a schedule that includes two MAC schools (one beat Notre Dame), two service academies, the worst Big Ten team (Purdue), five ACC schools and the worst USC team since pre-2000? Surely the CFP is better than this. 

Undervalued

∎ Tennessee (No. 7 ranked, No. 8 seed)

Best win: 24-17 vs. Alabama

Worst loss: 19-14 at Arkansas

Opponent record: 33-36

The skinny: The Vols are in the best position of any team in a crowded SEC race. Win out ― Mississippi State, at Georgia, UTEP, at Vanderbilt ― and Tennessee is in the SEC championship game for the first time since 2007.

They have the No. 2 defense in the SEC and the No. 1 running game. The only thing that’s lacking is accuracy in the pass game from QB Nico Iamaleava. If he improves over the final month of the season, it will be difficult for anyone in the SEC to beat the Vols.

∎ Boise State (No. 12 ranking, No. 12 seed)

Best win: 45-24 vs. Washington State

Worst loss: 37-34 at Oregon

Opponent record: 39-28

The skinny: The key to Boise State’s resume: No. 1 Oregon needed a kick return for a touchdown, a punt return for a touchdown and a last-second field goal to beat the Broncos in Eugene, Oregon. 

But it gets better: Boise State handed Washington State its only loss (by 21), won on the road at UNLV and will likely cruise to the Mountain West championship. By the end of Championship Week in December, the Broncos could have a strong enough resume to earn one of the four first-round byes.    

∎ No. 13 SMU

Best win: 34-27 at Louisville

Worst loss: 18-15 vs. BYU

Opponent record: 41-39

The skinny: Dynamic QB Kevin Jennings wasn’t the starter in a three-point loss to BYU, and this is a completely different team as he develops week by week. 

With three games remaining (Boston College, at Virginia, Cal), SMU is a near lock to play in the ACC championship game with a CFP first-round bye on the line. The big question: Will the committee think enough of SMU even if it loses in the ACC championship?   

Best win: 27-3 at South Carolina

Worst loss: 20-17 vs. Kentucky

Opponent record: 39-38

The skinny: Without gut-punch losses to Kentucky and LSU on unthinkable, last-minute fourth-down conversions, the Rebels would be unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in the nation. And the non-conference schedule (Furman, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Georgia Southern) isn’t a factor. 

The season comes down to Saturday’s game against Georgia in Oxford. Win, and the Rebels make a significant jump and need only to win at Florida and against Mississippi State to reach the CFP. 

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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First playoff rankings have Oregon at No. 1 and SEC dominating top 25

There was history made Tuesday with the release of the first College Football Playoff rankings in the era of an expanded 12-team format.

There was no drama with the team at No. 1 with Oregon holding down the top spot — the same position it occupies in the US LBM Coaches Poll.

What was uncertain heading into these first rankings was which team would follow the Ducks. Georgia and Ohio State both had strong cases with respective road wins against Texas and Penn State and narrow road losses to Alabama and Oregon. The committee went with the Buckeyes from the Big Ten at No. 2 and the Bulldogs at No. 3.

Miami, one of two ACC unbeatens, comes next after the top three followed by Texas. Completing the top 10 are, in order: Penn State, Tennessee, Indiana, Brigham Young and Notre Dame.

It’s unsurprising that the SEC leads all conferences with eight teams in the rankings. Alabama is just outside the top 10, while LSU, Texas A&M and Missouri are in the back half of the rankings. ACC is second with five teams. The Big Ten has four teams — all among the top 10. Also checking in with four teams is the Big 12. No other league has multiple representatives.

No. 12 Boise State is the highest-ranked team from the Group of Five conferences, 13 places ahead of No. 25 Army. The highest-ranked champion among the G5 leagues will secure at least one position in the playoff field. The Broncos could be in good position to earn a first-round bye should they finish ahead of one of the champions from the Power Four. BYU is the only Big 12 team ahead of them in the rankings and only Miami from the ACC leads them.

This is the first of five rankings by the College Football Playoff committee. The next three will come each Tuesday ahead of the final weekend of the season. The decisive rankings will be Sunday, Dec. 8, when the 12 teams in the field and the playoff bracket is announced.

What is the College Football Playoff schedule?

The top four conference champions in the final rankings will receive a bye. First-round games will be played on campus sites with No. 5 hosting No. 12, No. 6 facing No. 11, No. 7 meeting No. 10 and No. 8 squaring off with No. 9.

Winners of those games will advance to the quarterfinals at the Fiesta, Sugar, Peach and Rose bowls. Those games will be played either Dec. 31 or Jan. 1. The Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl will host the semifinals on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10, respectively.

The championship game will be played on Jan. 20 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

College Football Playoff rankings Top 25

1. Oregon (9-0)

2. Ohio State (7-1)

3. Georgia (7-1)

4. Miami (Fla) (9-0)

5. Texas (7-1)

6. Penn State (7-1)

7. Tennessee (7-1)

8. Indiana (9-0)

9. Brigham Young (8-0)

10. Notre Dame (7-1)

11. Alabama (6-2)

12. Boise State (7-1)

13. SMU (8-1)

14. Texas A&M (7-2)

15. LSU (6-2)

16. Mississippi (7-2)

17. Iowa State (7-1)

18. Pittsburgh (7-1)

19. Kansas State (7-2)

20. Colorado (6-2)

21. Washington State (7-1)

22. Louisville (6-3)

23. Clemson (6-2)

24. Missouri (6-2)

25. Army (8-0)

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Sherrone Moore was right. This is no honeymoon year at Michigan.

Back in July, when few foresaw Michigan football’s backslide, a reporter asked Sherrone Moore if he felt he deserved a grace period after inheriting a national championship program in the throes of transition.

Eighteen starters had just left. So did the entire defensive staff that had worked under Moore’s accomplished predecessor, Jim Harbaugh. The turbulence from the upheaval was exacerbated by the specter of two NCAA investigations that cast a pall over the Wolverines and clouded their future. But Moore seemed unfazed, projecting the bravado of someone who felt invincible after riding the wave of an undefeated season.

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Mitch McConnell sings Trump campaign praises: ‘Sharper operation this time’

A smiling Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., congratulated both President-elect Trump for his projected win and his fellow Senate Republicans for being projected to retake the majority in the new Congress. 

He told reporters on Wednesday, it is ‘certainly a happy day for the GOP.’

McConnell addressed the significance of the projected Trump win, remarking, ‘What he’s accomplished has not been done, as all of you know, since Grover Cleveland, which was a while back.’

Former President Grover Cleveland was notably the only president to serve non-consecutive terms. 

‘I also want to commend the Trump campaign for running a sharper operation this time,’ he added. 

The minority leader specifically touted the work of Trump campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, saying they ‘deserve a lot of credit’ and ‘ran a spectacular race.’

The Fox News Decision Desk has projected that Republicans will re-take the Senate majority, flipping three blue seats. There are still several Senate races in battleground states that have yet to be called, meaning their majority could still grow. 

McConnell, who announced in February that he would not seek the role of party leader in the new Congress, explained he ‘had really hoped I’d be able to hand over to my successor a majority.’

‘I’ve been the majority leader. I’ve been a minority leader. Majority is a lot better.’

‘Based on the fact that we haven’t got all the results, and we certainly already know we’re going to be in the majority, we’re hopeful that that might actually grow some,’ he said. 

He also credited National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines, R-Mont., for his leadership during the cycle. 

McConnell’s praise for the Trump campaign came just days after Trump mocked him at a North Carolina rally. ‘Hopefully we get rid of Mitch McConnell pretty soon ‘cause he helped them, that guy,’ the former president said, suggesting he aided the Biden-Harris administration. 

He also made fun of the fact that McConnell had endorsed him earlier in the year, despite their well-documented issues with one another. ‘Can you believe he endorsed me?’ Trump asked the crowd on Sunday. ‘Boy, that must have been a painful day in his life.’

At the time, McConnell had said it should not be surprising that he would get behind the Republican nominee. However, before the election, a new book reminded voters of his true feelings for Trump. 

In ‘The Price of Power,’ by Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief of The Associated Press, it was reported that McConnell referred to Trump at times as a ‘sleazeball,’ ‘stupid,’ ‘erratic,’ a ‘despicable human being,’ and a ‘narcissist.’

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Historian with streak of accurate election forecasts since 1984 falls short after 2024 Trump victory

Historian Allan Lichtman, who predicted nearly every election since 1984, was proved to have the wrong projection this cycle after President-elect Trump sailed to victory on Election Day.  

The Fox News Decision Desk projected Trump would win the presidency in the early hours of Wednesday, after Wisconsin’s call for the former president officially brought him above the magic number of 270 electoral votes needed to secure a win.

Lichtman, an election forecaster who had previously correctly predicted nearly every presidential race since 1984, developed a formula that is used to make predictions about presidential elections. He predicted, after the Democratic National Convention, that Vice President Kamala Harris would win the White House this cycle – but election night results show his prediction was wrong.

Lichtman’s ‘Keys to the White House’ consists of 13 true or false questions that he believes establish a strong indication of who will be named the victor on election night. Each question is asked about the two dueling nominees; if ‘true’ they are given a ‘key,’ and if ‘false,’ their competitor receives the point.

The ‘keys’ are as follows: party mandate, contest, incumbency, third party, short-term economy, long-term economy, policy change, social unrest, scandal, foreign/military failure, foreign/military success, incumbent charisma and challenger charisma.

According to Lichtman’s prediction, Harris held nine of the 13 keys before Election Day. These included no primary contest, no third party, short-term economy, long-term economy, policy change, no social unrest, no scandal, foreign/military success, and no challenger charisma.

Trump, however, defeated Harris when he secured 277 electoral votes – and counting.

‘The keys show that Kamala Harris is a predicted winner,’ Lichtman told Fox News Digital ahead of the election.

After Trump was projected to be the 47th president, Lichtman said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that he was ‘assessing last night’s results.’

In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, Lichtman said he will soon be addressing the results.

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Israeli PM Netanyahu calls President-elect Trump – here’s what they spoke about

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘was among the first’ Wednesday to call President-elect Donald Trump, the world leader’s office says.  

‘The conversation was warm and cordial. The Prime Minister congratulated Trump on his victory, and the two agreed to work together for Israel’s security,’ read a statement from the Israel Prime Minister’s Office. 

‘The two also discussed the Iranian threat,’ it added. 

The statement came hours after the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas said Trump’s incoming administration in January must ‘work seriously to stop the war’ in the Gaza Strip. 

Last week, a report emerged claiming Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wrap up the conflict by the time he gets inaugurated on Jan. 20 if he had won the election. Trump ultimately prevailed over Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Hamas said, ‘In light of the initial results showing Donald Trump winning in the U.S. presidential elections,’ they believe he is ‘required to listen to the voices that have been raised by the U.S. public for more than a year regarding the [Israeli] aggression on the Gaza Strip.’  

The incoming Trump administration must ‘work seriously to stop the war of genocide and aggression against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, stop the aggression against the brotherly Lebanese people, stop providing military support and political cover to the Zionist entity, and to recognize the legitimate rights of our people,’ Hamas added.  

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani – whose country has played a key role in cease-fire talks for Gaza – wrote on X, ‘Congratulations to President-Elect Donald Trump on winning the U.S. presidential election’ and ‘I wish you all the best during your term and look forward to working together again to strengthen our strategic relationship and partnership, and to advancing our shared efforts in promoting security and stability both in the region and globally.’

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also said Wednesday that ‘We will remain steadfast in our commitment to peace, and we are confident that the United States will support, under [Trump’s] leadership, the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people,’ according to Middle East Eye.

A source from the Times of Israel said Trump initially gave the message to Netanyahu about ending the war when the Israeli leader visited him at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, this past July. 

Fox News’ Andrea Margolis contributed to this report. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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