President Donald Trump, who spent months urging supporters to pretend he was on the ballot, declared on Tuesday night he “wasn’t on the ballot.”

Shortly after, Democrats scored a string of victories over his Republican party in the US midterm elections.

As a blue wave appeared to take hold across the country, the US president said he was prepared to accept the results.

While the vote was widely seen as a referendum on his leadership, Trump insisted on social media: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”

It came as a series of stunning defeats for his party in former Republican strongholds saw Democrats retake control in the US Senate. Democrats are widely also expected to take control of the House of Representatives.

Kanas elected a Democrat, Adam Hamilton, to the Senate for the first time since 1932.

Texas elected a Democrat, James Talarico, to the Senate for the first time since 1988. And in South Carolina, a Democrat, Annie Andrews, won a Senate seat for the first time since 1998.

Trump is “absolutely willing to accept those results” and prepared to work with Democrats, he told the New York Times. “We’ll, you know, look forward to working with them,” he said. “We’ll probably work something out.”

Concerns over the cost of living, rising fuel prices and an unpopular war with Iran loomed large over the campaign.

Trump’s approval rating has slumped to record lows, saddling Republicans with an unenviable task as they defend narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress.

Trump has held 30 campaign rallies over the past month. The 80-year-old’s speeches have been strewn with lies, prejudice, repetitions and ruminations on men’s physiques including the “ass” of the Ohio senator Jon Husted.

His closing address at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday focused mainly on algae, granite, re-caulking and grass.

In remarks apparently aimed at swaying largely Democratic-leaning voters unhappy with US support for Israel, Trump said the US would stop $4bn in annual funding to Israel after the end of this ⁠year.

The president also said he would be watching the results come in later on Tuesday night at the White House, where he is hosting a viewing reception.