WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump spent much of Wednesday morning explaining why Republicans suffered a sweeping midterm defeat. His list of culprits included Republican candidates, insufficient MAGA loyalty, Fox News and voters who failed to show up.
Notably absent from that list was Trump himself.
That omission is striking because Trump repeatedly tried to make the 2026 midterms a referendum on his presidency. Axios reported in September that Trump was explicitly pushing Republicans to campaign around him, while he later urged supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot.”
After Democrats captured both the House and Senate, Trump posted that Republicans would have won “IN A LANDSLIDE” had he personally been running.
Fox News anchor Bret Baier confronted Trump with the contradiction Tuesday night, reminding him that he had specifically asked voters to behave as though his name were on the ballot. Trump acknowledged that but blamed Republican nominees instead, saying some “weren’t for” him and failed to inspire the MAGA base.
Trump then turned on Fox News, declaring that the network “bears responsibility for these losses” because it allowed Democratic voices on its programs.
He also attacked longtime ally Greg Abbott after the Texas governor lost reelection, accusing Abbott of becoming a “RINO.”
The broader evidence makes Trump’s effort to distance himself difficult to square with the campaign he ran. Axios reported that Republicans privately viewed Trump as their biggest electoral liability even before Election Day, while national polling showed his approval sinking into the mid-30s and majorities expressing dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy and cost of living.
Democrats ultimately seized both chambers, winning races across battlegrounds and traditionally Republican territory.
Trump wanted voters to treat the midterms as if he were on the ballot. They did. His response afterward was to blame nearly everyone except himself.
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