Trump Distances Himself From Midterm Losses, Blames Candidates

Washington (GNP): US President Donald Trump has tried to distance himself from his party’s sweeping midterm losses. He has blamed defeated candidates and campaign shortcomings while insisting the results were not a judgment on his presidency.

In a phone interview broadcast early on Wednesday, Trump admitted that Democrats had run effective campaigns. He said they fought hard, but argued that Republican candidates failed to win enough support.

Asked whether the outcome was a setback for him, he said he did not see it as a hit on him. He described the past two years as the greatest in the history of the presidency.

The losses make that claim harder to sustain. Several candidates he backed lost in states he had carried comfortably in the 2024 presidential election. Rather than point to voter dissatisfaction, Trump focused on the candidates themselves and their failure to mobilise supporters.

In a separate interview, he went further and said his absence from the ballot hurt his party. According to Trump, Republicans could not get enough people out to vote because he was not on the ticket. He also claimed on social media that Republicans would have won in a landslide had he been a candidate.

White House officials made a similar case. They argued that candidate quality and campaign strategy played a decisive role in the defeats. One official went as far as saying that Trump had done more to promote some candidates than they had done for themselves.

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That explanation sits uneasily with what voters said. A nationwide voter poll found that many Americans blamed his administration for high living costs and wanted Congress to place stronger checks on his power. The economy, rising prices and the war with Iran were among the issues that weighed on voters.

The political cost is now clear. Democrats have won control of both chambers of Congress, which gives them new leverage to scrutinise the administration, challenge its policies and block parts of Trump’s legislative agenda.

Even so, Trump maintains that his presidency remains a success. For now, he places responsibility for the defeat on the candidates and their campaigns.

Donald Trump said, “The Democrats fought hard, but I do not view this as a hit on me.”