Trump: GOP midterm failure ‘wasn’t my fault’

Former President Donald Trump kicked off 2023 by reflecting on the 2022 midterm elections, saying he was not responsible for the GOP’s weaker-than-expected performance.

“It wasn’t my fault that Republicans failed to live up to expectations mid-term,” Trump said on his social media site Truth Social.

Despite the wishes of many Republicans, Trump kept high profile ahead of the midterms, holding several rallies, endorsing some far-right candidates and dropping hints about his own political future.

Trump officially announced his 2024 presidential run just a week after Election Day. During his announcement speech, he said “the Republican Party should have done better” midterm, arguing that his party expected too much of midterm results.

Several Republican Party members have openly blamed Trump for the GOP’s disappointing performance, including former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who called the former president “a drag on our ticket.” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said an endorsement from Trump was like “the kiss of death.”

But on Sunday, Trump argued that it was Republicans’ handling of “the ‘abortion issue'” that hampered their midterm chances. In his Truth Social Post, Trump argued that those who pushed to ban abortion for decades had “simply disappeared, never to be seen again.”

Trump also issued another diss to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over the spending. (Specifically, Trump mentioned “Mitch stupid $’s!”)

His campaign has been relatively quiet since his Nov. 15 announcement, and Trump himself has been embroiled in several scandals, including hosting a prominent white nationalist for dinner and a plethora of legal troubles.