Donald Trump wasn’t on the midterm ballot, but he lost anyway - MSNBC

Donald Trump astir apt scheduled an quality astatine Mar-a-Lago past nighttime with definite expectations. Like overmuch of his party, the erstwhile president had spent caller weeks expressing large assurance astir melodramatic Republican gains successful the midterm elections, and the ticker enactment astatine his glorified state nine was expected to beryllium a celebration.

That is, until attendees started taking banal of the predetermination results arsenic they came in.

Trump unconvincingly described the nighttime arsenic an “interesting evening,” earlier wrapping up his quality quickly.

It was conscionable arsenic well. After all, determination wasn’t overmuch other helium could say. As a Washington Post report summarized overnight:

Midterms are inevitably a referendum connected the enactment successful power, but Trump made this year’s astir him, arsenic well. Though not connected the ballot himself, the “Trump ticket” was, arsenic helium called his slate of endorsed candidates successful cardinal states.

While it’s not yet wide however each of the Trump-backed candidates person fare successful high-profile, statewide contests, immoderate of his candidates — including Mehmet Oz successful Pennsylvania — person already lost, and arsenic the governmental satellite takes banal of the results, it’s hard not to announcement that Republicans were burdened by anemic and failed candidates chosen straight by the erstwhile president.

One GOP insider told Fox News overnight, “If it wasn’t wide before, it should beryllium now: We person a Trump problem.” The web ran this report this morning:

Many conservatives enactment the blasted connected erstwhile President Donald Trump for the GOP’s underwhelming midterm predetermination results, which saw Trump candidates crossed the state failing to summation office. Many blimpish commentators took the predetermination results arsenic a motion it was clip for the GOP to determination connected from Trump. Commentators argued that Trump had endorsed outlandish candidates who turned casual victories into adjacent races, and adjacent races into losses. Others compared Trump’s nonaccomplishment to unafraid wins crossed the state with the immense question of enactment for Republicans successful Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Florida.

I’m starting to deliberation putting the party’s absorption successful the hands of a twice-impeached, corrupt erstwhile president — who mislaid the fashionable ballot doubly — was unwise.

Indeed, the existent circumstances couldn’t beryllium overmuch worse for the erstwhile president. On the ineligible front, Trump is presently facing transgression investigations that mightiness pb to his indictment. On the polling front, the Republican remains broadly unpopular. And connected the electoral front, helium went retired of his mode to insert himself into the midterm elections, which were expected to beryllium a large occurrence for the GOP — and might’ve been acold amended if helium hadn’t prioritized loyalty to himself supra each different considerations.

He expected to aftermath up this greeting arsenic his party’s eventual kingmaker. Instead, arsenic the particulate settles connected Election Day, Trump has ne'er been politically weaker than helium is close now.

The erstwhile president wasn’t connected the ballot, but helium managed to suffer anyway.