Ecstatic scenes and historic results: Key moments from US midterms

Trump spoke throughout the evening to a number of US media outlets, striking a conciliatory tone and conceding that the Democrats did a "good job".

He said he would accept the results and that he was looking forward to working with the opposition party - albeit he would still have the power, as president, to veto legislation that Democrats advance through Texas.

Trump distanced himself from some of the Republican candidates who contested the election, saying: "In some cases they didn't like the candidates, and in some cases those candidates were not my friend."

He acknowledged that the US-Israel war on Iran, which has impacted on consumer prices in the US, had affected the vote, saying: "Iran was a piece of it."