If you’re just waking up, the much-vaunted midterm red wave turned into a red flounder on Election Day, with Democrats appearing to hold their thin majority in the Senate, and the House still up for grabs as of Wednesday morning.
Even if the GOP retakes control of the House, the margin appears likely to be far less than had been anticipated.
Unnamed sources wasted little time in pointing a finger for the lackluster performance on former President Donald Trump.
One such GOP source tells Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich “if it wasn’t clear before it should be now” that “we have a Trump problem.”
GOP source tells me “if it wasn’t clear before it should be now. We have a Trump problem”
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) November 9, 2022
Another told Heinrich that Mehmet Oz, the Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania who lost to a severely unwell man in Democrat John Fetterman, had saddled himself with “baggage we didn’t need” by appearing with Trump.
Senate GOP source expresses shock about Oz – calls it “short sighted” to appear alongside Trump & Mastriano. “Saddled us with baggage we didn’t need”
And with that, I’m (finally) going to bed.
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) November 9, 2022
And yet another quipped that it “turns out candidate quality matters,” a reference to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s comments over the summer indicating Trump’s endorsed candidates had a “candidate quality” problem.
Another GOP source: “turns out candidate quality matters”
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) November 9, 2022
A GOP source also spoke to RealClearNews White House reporter Philip Wegman and indicated the election result shows a strong performance by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but a weak effort by Trump’s candidates.
“Everybody in the water,” they said of potentially primarying Trump in 2024. “If you want to take on Trump, he’s never been weaker.”
GOP Source tells me after tonight, with Trump candidates underperforming and DeSantis winning by double digits, 2024 is a “free for all.”
“Everybody in the water. If you want to take on Trump, he’s never been weaker.”
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) November 9, 2022
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Conservative Commentators Also Turn on Trump Over Midterms
It wasn’t just unnamed Republican sources who sensed blood in the water with Trump following the midterms. Some of the best and brightest conservative commentators also took the opportunity to lay blame at the former President’s feet.
“Donald Trump was a major drag on Republicans, from his picks to his antics,” writes Daily Wire editor Ben Shapiro.
He accused Trump of having “picked bad candidates,” spending “almost no money on his hand-picked candidates,” and then proceeding to “crap on the Republicans who lost and didn’t sufficiently bend the knee.”
Trump picked bad candidates, spent almost no money on his hand-picked candidates, and then proceeded to crap on the Republicans who lost and didn’t sufficiently bend the knee. This will have 2024 impact.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 9, 2022
Author Michael Malice took a more measured tone, suggesting the landscape for 2024 looks very different for Trump following the midterms.
“I don’t see how you look at the election results and think Trump would do better in 2024 than he did in 2020,” he tweeted.
I dont see how you look at the election results and think Trump would do better in 2024 than he did in 2020.
— Michael Malice (@michaelmalice) November 9, 2022
Radio host Erick Erickson accused Trump of only spending $15 million out of roughly $100 million cash on hand, and having “saddled the GOP with a lot of clunker candidates.”
Of the $100 million Trump had, he only spent $15 million and saddled the GOP with a lot of clunker candidates. Part of the base, however, would rather blame conspiracies than ever cast doubt on Trump.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) November 9, 2022
Radio host Tara Servatius indicated she believes the GOP needs to move in a new direction.
SOUND OFF: Who is MOST responsible for the GOP’s midterm disaster?
“We can lose like the Trump candidates did last night in 2024, or we can flip the country like DeSantis did Florida, which used to be a swing state,” she said. “No more.”
“He even won deep blue Miami County,” Servatius said of DeSantis. “This is the man who can flip the country.”
Yup. We can lose like the Trump candidates did last night in 2024, or we can flip the country like DeSantis did Florida, which used to be a swing state. No more. He even won deep blue Miami County. This is the man who can flip the country. #DeSantis2024 https://t.co/20vgEuO495
— Tara Servatius (@TaraServatius) November 9, 2022
Not everybody accused Trump of being the problem with the midterm fizzle.
Podcaster Wayne Dupree blamed the GOP for pulling money out of races in which Trump-backed candidates were battling.
“Some Trump candidates lost because the GOP pulled financial support. They gave DeSantis 20 million and pulled support for Mastriano in Pennsylvania,” Dupree said. “If you don’t see this was calculated, I don’t know how else to explain it.”
He added that the establishment had “played the game.”
Some Trump candidates lost because the GOP pulled financial support. They gave DeSantis 20 million and pulled support for Mastriano in Pennsylvania. If you don’t see this was calculated, I don’t know how else to explain it. GOP establishment played the game https://t.co/JqJOOpzYTZ
— Wayne DuPree (Shadow-Banned) (@WayneDupreeShow) November 9, 2022
Trump meanwhile, posted on his Truth Social media platform and gave himself a characteristic pat on the back for his candidates’ performances.
“174 wins and 9 losses, A GREAT EVENING, and the Fake News Media, together with their partner in crime, the Democrats, are doing everything possible to play it down,” he wrote. “Amazing job by some really fantastic candidates!”
That said, Oz was a crucial loss in Pennsylvania, as were gubernatorial losses by Mastriano in the same state, Tudor Dixon in Michigan, and Dan Cox in Maryland.
It wasn’t a great evening.
Election Betting Odds also seem to show a seismic shift for the GOP – not the red wave they were expecting, but in how DeSantis and Trump are immediately being viewed in the aftermath of the midterms.
DeSantis suddenly, as of this morning, has better betting odds of winning the Republican nomination in 2024, while Trump has seen the number of people saying ‘Yes’ to a run dropping by nearly 9 points.
Incredible shift in the odds for President in 2024! @RonDeSantisFL overtook Trump for the first time.https://t.co/iGtLJjOfzl
That’s because DeSantis just won a swing state with an crazy 20% margin. For comparison, he won his race in 2018 by just 0.4%. pic.twitter.com/weO8pbgeVg
— Maxim Lott (MaximumTruth.substack.com) (@maximlott) November 9, 2022
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The post Unnamed Sources, Top Conservatives Blame Trump for Midterm Disaster appeared first on The Political Insider.
