Donald Trump says he could ‘very easily’ go six months without insulting Democrats, right after calling them ‘Dumocrats’ on 60 Minutes

Donald Trump claimed he could “very easily” work with Democrats without resorting to insults, even as he re-introduced an old nickname for them during his first post-midterms interview. He made these remarks on “60 Minutes” after Democrats gained control of both the House and Senate in the midterm elections.

Before the election, Trump outlined how he would approach working with Democrats if they gained control. During the interview, correspondent Ross Douthat asked, “Do you think you could work with the Democrats without insulting them, consistently?” Trump replied, “Yeah, I do. I could… I also called many of them ‘Dumocrats.'”

Douthat pointed out that Trump had used the nickname just days earlier, and pressed whether he could refrain from insults for six months if it meant reaching a deal. “Very easily,” Trump insisted. Shortly after the election, Trump used the ‘Dumocrats’ insult in a Truth Social post blaming Democrats for a reported $2.5 trillion stock market drop.

How Trump will work with Democrats remains a huge question

“The Stock Market suffered one of the Worst Days in History based on the results of the Election,” he wrote. “Such a sad thing to watch! It took so much work to get us to a level that no one has ever seen before, and then this.” He then warned Americans that their retirement savings had taken a hit, adding: “Your 401(k)s have, therefore, dropped. Remember, it wasn’t Republicans; it was Dumocrats.”

Meanwhile, multiple reports noted that senior Democrats in both houses of Congress have pledged to use their new majorities to investigate alleged corporate graft and consider impeachments of Trump administration officials. When Douthat asked whether Trump could still work with Democrats despite these plans, he replied: “Well, I did it for four years. What they did with me was, there’s never been weaponization. They impeached me twice. And there are those that say that worked out to my advantage.”

After the interview, Trump claimed he ordered the Justice Department to investigate Democrats for allegedly threatening Republicans. In a Truth Social post, he accused Democrats of threatening numerous individuals—including the Attorney General of the United States—with impeachment and other forms of punishment.

“This is extortion at the highest level, and they should be held accountable for this,” Trump wrote. Also, they’re threatening our Donors, some of the most respected people anywhere in the World, with imprisonment and many other levels of punishment, just because they happen to be Republicans, or Republican supporters.”