Fight or flight? Trump mixes signals after midterms

Detailed summary

President Donald Trump's political mantra is "fight, fight, fight." But he has given decidedly mixed messages about whether he will do so ...

President Donald Trump's political mantra is "fight, fight, fight." But he has given decidedly mixed messages about whether he will do so after Republicans were hammered in the midterms.

In the week since becoming a lame duck, Trump named the hardline architect of his migration crackdown as his chief of staff, while admitting his deportation policy was too tough.

The 80-year-old raised eyebrows when he publicly asked Ultimate Fighting Championship boss Dana White to be his new press secretary - then claimed he was just joking.

He has admitted that the Iran war was largely to blame for the midterms rout. But he has strongly backed Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth's battle against impeachment.

"One of the characteristics of Donald Trump is that he changes his mind on a dime," Democratic Senator Chris Coons told CNN.

"He'll be praising someone on Monday, firing them on Tuesday, and pretending he never knew them on Wednesday. So it's hard to predict exactly what Donald Trump is going to do."

Democrats have promised to rein in Trump and launch a series of investigations into corruption and abuse of power. He could face a third impeachment.

But for a president supposedly facing his last stand, he has at times struck a surprisingly conciliatory tone. As results came in, he congratulated Democrats on seizing Congress and said he could work with them.

Instead of a press conference the next day, he gave reporters a tour of his new White House ballroom - sparking speculation he might spend the rest of his term on his building projects.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Oman Observer. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.