President Donald Trump deflected blame after a slew of Republican losses in Tuesday’s midterm election.
“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” he wrote on Truth Social.
In the month leading up to Election Day, the president held rallies across the country, urging voters to treat the midterms as a referendum on his leadership as Republicans sought to energize his base and boost turnout.
Those in Trump’s orbit appeared to shift blame to candidates. A White House official pointed to candidate quality.
“President Trump did a better job promoting many of the candidates on the ballot than the candidates themselves,” the official stated.
Republican and White House officials believed the president’s rallies helped boost Republican enthusiasm and candidate support in the lead-up to Tuesday, as they focused on turning out low-propensity voters who historically have supported the president.
"Tonight is further proof that Republican candidates can't take turnout for granted when President Trump isn't on the ballot,” a source with ties to Trump told Scripps News. “President Trump and his operation worked harder than anyone to turn out Republican voters, going above and beyond to make up for some candidates who failed to do the work themselves.”
Several Trump-backed candidates lost despite receiving significant attention and support from the president. In Texas, Trump endorsed Attorney General Ken Paxton over U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary. Paxton lost to Democrat James Talarico on Tuesday. In South Carolina, the president backed Sen. Darline Graham, who entered the race following the death of her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. Graham lost to Democrat Annie Andrews.
The mood at the White House shifted from “cautiously optimistic” earlier Tuesday evening to “defiant” as election results came in, according to White House officials. One official said Trump had “left it all out on the field” and “done everything that was needed.”
However, other republicans put the onus on Trump.
A republican strategist in a competitive race called Tuesday's results a “total and utter rejection of Donald Trump.”
“I think much of what we are seeing tonight is a reflection of the Trump agenda, particularly our continued involvement in Iran, high gas prices, inflation and the lack of focus on issues affecting everyday Americans,” said a statewide Republican official.
Another republican strategist indicated the results weren’t surprising.
“The high tariff and high gas prices had an expiration date,” they said.
Some pointed to the president’s top outside political advisers.
One strategist said they “…spent this cycle borrowing President Trump’s name and their proximity to him because their own records couldn’t carry the weight. The President built the MAGA movement with his own two hands. They just hitched a ride and good candidates went down with them.”
Republicans publicly expressed confidence ahead of Tuesday's elections. Trump also voiced optimism but repeatedly cautioned that the party holding the White House historically struggles in midterm elections.
The administration now contends there will be “buyer's remorse.”
“Anyone who voted Democrat today is going to have a serious case of buyer's remorse when gas prices come down quickly when the Iran conflict is solved, but they’re still stuck with a list of liberal extremist Democrats,” said a White House official.
“Democrats are renting many of these seats, and the independents who voted for them will swing back hard after two years of a socialist majority and a serious case of buyer's remorse,” said a Trump world source.
Trump, however, said he would accept the election results, telling The New York Times in an interview, “I am absolutely willing to accept those results.”
The results stand to have a significant impact on the president’s remaining time in office.
Trump previously indicated to reporters he could rely on veto power in a Democratic-controlled Congress.
“We’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll, you know, look forward to working with them. We’ll probably work something out,” Trump told the New York Times.
Earlier in the campaign, a White House official said the legislative affairs team was “probably planning for all scenarios,” though the administration expected a Republican victory.
“Regardless of how today plays out, President Trump’s resolve to stop the Radical Left is only going to become stronger. Buckle up,” a White House official stated.
