Donald Trump has blamed the Republican Party’s disappointing midterm performances on the “abortion issue” rather than the failure of his endorsed candidates.
In a post on Truth Social, the former president said that it “wasn’t my fault” that the GOP failed to ride the expected “red wave” in November’s elections, while pointing the finger for the poor election results at those in the party who pushed for severe abortion restrictions post Roe v. Wade.
Many people, including within the GOP, blamed Trump’s MAGA and election denying candidates for the GOP failing to retake control of the Senate and only just achieving a slim majority in the House.
The Democrats leaned heavily on abortion rights after the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, a strategy some predicted may be a risk as polls suggested the economy and rising inflation levels were the main concern for voters ahead of the midterm elections.
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“It wasn’t my fault that the Republicans didn’t live up to expectations in the MidTerms. I was 233-20!,” Trump wrote, referencing the success rate of his midterm endorsements, which included incumbents already heavily favored to win.
“It was the ‘abortion issue,’ poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those that firmly insisted on No Exceptions, even in the case of Rape, Incest, or Life of the Mother, that lost large numbers of Voters. Also, the people that pushed so hard, for decades, against abortion, got their wish from the U.S. Supreme Court, & just plain disappeared, not to be seen again.”
Trump also blamed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his “stupid $’s” for the GOP’s poor midterm results after he withdrew funding from key Senate races such as New Hampshire and Arizona, where Trump endorsed candidates went on to lose.
Trump failed to note in his January 1 Truth Social post that the Supreme Court only voted to overturn Roe v. Wade after the bench was filled with his appointments.
Three of the five conservative judges who voted to overturn the landmark abortion decision—Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett—were nominated by the Republican president.
In a statement shortly after SCOTUS voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, Trump took credit for the decision having appointed the judges who were able to give the majority decision.
“Today’s decision, which is the biggest WIN for LIFE in a generation, along with other decisions that have been announced recently, were only made possible because I delivered everything as promised, including nominating and getting three highly respected and strong Constitutionalists confirmed to the United States Supreme Court,” Trump said. “It was my great honor to do so!”
The statement was seen as a direct appeal to conservative Christian voters, who became a key demographic during Trump’s presidency.
Trump also did not mention that a number of his endorsed candidates who went on to lose their respective midterm races—such as Senate candidates Herschel Walker in Georgia and Blake Masters in Arizona—supported the introduction of stricter abortion laws.
The Republican National Committee has been contacted for comment.
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