Donald Trump is apparently not in good spirits after Tuesday night’s midterm upset.
According to CNN’s Jim Acosta, an aide to the former president said he was “livid” and “screaming at everyone” on Wednesday after what Republicans hyped up to be a red tsunami turned out to be more of a ripple. As of Wednesday afternoon, Republicans appeared poised to win control of the House, but the fate of the Senate still hung in the balance.
And though Trump wasn’t on the ballot, more than one-morning headline dubbed him the election’s biggest loser. Democrats outperformed Republican nominees he endorsed, and voters largely rejected candidates who parroted his election-denying rhetoric.
To add fuel to the fire, Florida governor Ron DeSantis ― Trump’s likely rival for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 ― won reelection convincingly, despite attacks and threats from Trump.
According to Acosta, a Trump aide said Trump’s handpicked contenders were “all bad candidates”.
Trump on Monday said he planned to make a “very big announcement” on November 15, widely expected to be news that he is mounting another bid for the White House. However, amid fallout and finger-pointing over the disappointing election results, some Republicans have suggested Trump should delay it.
The aide told Acosta it’s unlikely Trump would do so because it’s “too humiliating to delay”, but there are too many unknowns at this point.
Trump was fuming, in particular, over the loss of Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania to Democrat John Fetterman, The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman reported. He reportedly blamed anyone who advised him to support the celebrity physician, including his wife, Melania Trump.