The key facts
- Trump's family did not join him at the White House on the evening of the November 3 midterm elections
- Melania Trump is focused on diplomatic contacts on Russia and Ukraine and is to hold a meeting with representatives of the two countries on Thursday
- The Decision Desk HQ forecast gave Democrats an 84% chance of winning a majority in the House of Representatives
Election night without the family
On November 3, the United States held midterm congressional elections: Americans elected the entire House of Representatives — 435 members — and 35 senators. The outcome will determine whether Republicans keep their majority in both chambers. On election night, President Donald Trump spent the evening at the White House not surrounded by his family, but among cabinet members and administration staff, watching the vote count. This was reported by NBC News, citing a senior administration official:
Why the first lady was absent
Journalists paid particular attention to the absence of Melania Trump. According to NBC, representatives of her team had warned in advance that the first lady would not come to the White House that evening, as she is focused on diplomatic contacts related to Russia and Ukraine. As early as Thursday, she is expected to host a meeting at the White House with representatives of the two countries, and, according to information on the US administration's website, intends to deliver a speech dedicated to the ceasefire in Aleshky, Kherson region.
What the forecasts showed
On the eve of the vote, the analytics service Decision Desk HQ estimated the probability of Democrats regaining control of the House of Representatives at 84%, versus 16% for Republicans to keep their majority. According to the forecast cited by Life.ru, the Democrats could win 241 of the 435 seats, which would give them an advantage of 47 seats. The first results of the evening already provided material for individual headlines: the outlet reported that Democrat Cooper from North Carolina took a Senate seat from the Republicans. The final election results remained unknown at the time of publication.
