Trump likely to lash out in foreign policy if Democrats take Congress, warns ex-US ambassador to EU

Europeans hoping US relations will improve should Democrats take Congress are in for disappointment, says Anthony Gardner, the former US ambassador to the EU under the second Obama administration. Speaking to EUobserver ahead of the US-mid term elections, taking place on Tuesday (3 November), Gardner says foreign relations are widely under the remit of the executive branch. “Those who are hoping for a big change from this midterm in terms of US policy. You are probably going to be disappointed,” he said. With two years left in his presidency, the US-mid terms are largely seen as referendum on the Trump administration; spanning everything from high fuel prices, an unpopular war in Iran, corruption, tariffs, healthcare and immigration. Trump, in his closing speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, instead largely spoke about algae blooms and paint jobs and other building projects around Washington DC. “The pipes now are totally renovated,” he said, in reference to botched efforts to renovate the pool. Democrats need three more seats to take the House and flip four in the Senate without losing any of their own. All 435 seats in the House are up for grabs, compared to 35 of 100 in the Senate. But a Democrat Congress could potentially embolden Trump to push for an even more radical foreign policy, warned Gardner. "It often happens in the past when presidents lose control of the House and Senate, they pick up the shiny toy that they have, which is foreign policy, because that's where they have basically very wide discretion," he said. "If the Democrats win both, it becomes even more radical," he added. More radical