Republicans took a major blow in this week’s midterm elections as a blue wave, or even blue tsunami, swept the country. Democrats gained control of the House and the Senate and flipped Republican seats in Texas, South Carolina and many more states.

“He’s deliberately trying to shape his public image, and this calm response ... he’s not known for,” said Denise Dudley, a clinical psychologist and behavioral expert.

When it comes to Trump’s behavior, you never know what to expect, said Shenikka Moore-Clarke, a therapist and owner of The Healing Vibe. “I feel like his ‘calm appearance’ ... I don’t know if that is really that reflective of who he is or his internal state,” Moore-Clarke continued.

We’re familiar with Trump’s grandiose behavior and self-focused narrative — not demure mannerisms, she added. “I do feel like he’s putting it on in some ways,” Moore-Clarke said, “And in some ways distancing himself from what happened to his party.”

Ahead, experts break down what else they’re observing in Trump in the wake of the midterms.

Experts theorize Trump’s calm reactions are also a way to exercise control.

Dudley said his calmness is an example of “impression management,” which could be a power move.

His seemingly calm public response may be his way to communicate “the ultimate thing that he always tells us,” Dudley said, “which is that he’s confident, he’s in control. Regardless of what’s happening around him, he’s still the president of the United States.” This is also evident in the White House’s social media posts, which shared a graphic stating just that.

A calm reaction could also be a way to minimize the significance of a very significant moment that set him back, Dudley noted, adding, “To preserve his image of control and authority ... he’s just kind of denying it.”

Trump has also reminded people several times that he has veto power, Dudley said. So, while he isn’t going on about the midterm loss, he is throwing in that strategic detail.

Experts don’t know how Trump will act as Democrats move to control Congress, but certain situations could bring out anything from calmness to ‘childish defensive strategies.’

Will he stay calm in the weeks and months to come? Dudley said she can imagine a scenario where he does.

“All of a sudden he wants to talk about the ballroom and ... he’s just kind of over there wanting to talk about anything about the election,” said Dudley. “That response, I think, he’s going to have to carry into the future because he almost has to back himself up now.”

In response to the midterm results, Trump told The New York Times, “We’ll work with the Democrats.” This statement is an example of “narrative preservation” and “power preservation,” Dudley said. If he’s portraying a calm, cool and collected vibe, he has to keep that demeanor for it to stick in people’s minds, she added; if he doesn’t, it’ll be clear that this loss hurt him.

“In order to continue to be powerful, with the Democrats now in power, his next power move will have to be to look like he didn’t care about the loss,” she said.

“It’s the only way I can think that he’s playing it,” Dudley continued. “I think if he wants to go down in history as somebody who wasn’t just a big baby, who wasn’t just kicking and screaming for the last two years, that he almost has to start figuring out how to work with the other side.”

When asked whether she thinks Trump will stay calm in the weeks to come, Moore-Clarke wasn’t so sure. “I don’t know, but I don’t trust it either way,” she said.

“I would need to see consistency in that [calm] behavior because I can imagine that another time we see him, he might have something totally different to say,” Moore-Clarke said.

“We just have to be prepared for whatever comes up for him, because I think that there’s just so much unpredictability in the ways in which he’s shown up in the past,” she added.

It’s unknown exactly how the president will act as Democrats control both the House and the Senate, but Moore-Clarke says she worries about how he’ll show up.

“He’s going to try a lot of different strategies to try to overturn things ... even with them having the lead in the Senate and in the House,” Moore-Clarke said. Because of his self-focused personality, she noted he may try harder to find other ways to show power and test boundaries under the Democrat-controlled Congress.

Will Lacey-Bisetty, a decolonial neuropsychologist in California, told HuffPost he thinks we may see Trump’s more defensive side, particularly if the Democrats do a good job.

“If Democrats push for real change to support everyday Americans ... then I would expect someone as combative and fragile as he seems to be to fall into the defensiveness pattern,” he said. “I think with a real consistent force and messaging of policies for the people, Trump will feel very threatened.”

This could be if he resorts to mean comments, teasing and “other childish defensive strategies,” he noted.

On the other hand, if Democrats don’t make progress or hold people accountable, then Trump may “likely feel like he is winning and do his classic self-centered, take-credit-for-everything presentation,” Lacey-Bisetty said.

“You can already see more progressive candidates like Abdul El-Sayed coming out swinging,” Lacey-Bisetty said. “Trump has a tendency to respond with dysregulation to more direct attacks because he becomes defensive so quickly.”

Trump’s MO has been unpredictability, Moore-Clarke said. “For the people that are feeling hopeful of what’s to come, I think that we have to just keep focused on [that],” she continued.

Focusing on his behavior keeps us from focusing on the changes we want in this country. “He’s going to be who he is going to be, and we just have to focus on what is important and not what he continues to give us, which is a lot of unnecessary outrage,” she said.

“I would encourage people to continue to feel hopeful,” Moore-Clarke added, “without letting their sense of safety depend on his reactions or his mood or what he does.”