Some Republicans blamed President Donald Trump for the party's midterm election losses on Tuesday, citing his unpopular policies, low job approval and focus on his own legacy rather than voter concerns.
Democrats won upset victories in traditionally Republican states including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina. Bill Miller, a top Republican lobbyist in Texas, told the BBC: "It's on him. It's not on anybody else. It's a total, complete rejection of President Trump. This is a disaster of the first magnitude."
Republican strategist Gregg Peppin said Trump's policies were widely rejected. "In state after state, people did not like the president's policies," Peppin said. A White House ally described public disapproval over Iran policy, tariffs and immigration crackdowns as creating a "perfect storm" in November, with "palpable frustration" and "extremely high" anger at Trump within the party.
Trump held dozens of campaign rallies before the election and aligned Super PACs spent hundreds of millions backing Republican candidates. Trump posted on Truth Social after the results: "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" He later told Fox News he was "a little bit surprised" by the results but noted the president's party typically fared poorly in midterms.
Some Republicans defended Trump, pointing to weak Republican candidates in battleground states. One Texas Republican operative said Senate nominee Ken Paxton ran "the worst Senate campaign in the country from either side of the aisle." Others said Trump balanced his campaign schedule with his duties as president.