Republicans are turning on Donald Trump after midterm election losses, calling the results a disaster. Strategists said his low approval ratings and controversial policies damaged the party. One official described the defeat as a bloodbath, saying, “Trump did this.” Meanwhile, Trump claimed he would have won in a landslide.
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However, some party strategists said Trump's low approval ratings, controversial policies, and focus on construction projects in Washington had further damaged their prospects, the report added.
Gregg Peppin, a Republican strategist in Minnesota, said the party’s campaign was marked by repeated missteps and that voters across several states had rejected the president’s policies.
A White House ally attributed the losses to growing public dissatisfaction over the Iran war, tariffs and the administration's immigration crackdown, describing the combination as a "perfect storm".
The person said there was "palpable frustration [within] the party about how this has all played out", adding that much of the anger was directed at Trump and that dissatisfaction with him was "extremely high".
Steve Scheffler, the Republican National Committeeman in Iowa, had defended Trump's influence ahead of the election, saying he did not believe it was weakening. However, he acknowledged that "there were things you wish he said differently" when it came to the midterms.
However, some Republicans rejected the argument that candidate quality was responsible for the setback. A senior Senate Republican official told POLITICO that the scale of the defeat went beyond individual candidates.
“We are beyond candidate quality. It’s a bloodbath,” the official said. “Trump did this.”
Bobby Charles, a former Republican candidate for governor in Maine, meanwhile, expressed optimism about the party's future, pointing to Trump's departure from office in two years.
“It sounds a little ironic,” he told POLITICO. “but I am nevertheless optimistic for the future because Trump’s going to be gone in two years.”
A Republican operative involved in campaigns in swing states also described the election outcome as a "perfect storm" of “just incompetence”.
Trump reacts to defeat
Trump remained largely silent as the results came in before responding on Truth Social after Democrats secured both chambers of Congress.
"I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter," he wrote.
In subsequent interviews with The New York Times and Fox News, Trump said he would accept the election results. He also said he was "a little bit surprised" by the outcome but pointed out that the president's party typically performs poorly in midterm elections.
On the other hand, the White House reminded Americans that Donald Trump remains president with a social media post on X featuring his photograph and the message, “PSA: Trump is still your president.”
The post ended with the phrase, “Thank you for your attention to this matter".