Former President Donald Trump blamed pro-life Republicans for the party’s lackluster performance in the 2022 midterm elections, rejecting any blame on Monday.
Trump faced heavy criticism following midterm elections after Trump-endorsed candidates lost key close races across the country. Many commentators argued Trump had forced the party to put up bad candidates, but Trump now argues it was the fault of staunchly pro-life Republicans.
“It wasn’t my fault that the Republicans didn’t live up to expectations in the midterms,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “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, and just plain disappeared, not to be seen again,” he added.
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Trump’s attack on pro-life voters comes as support for his 2024 presidential run has plummeted in the polls. Prior to the midterms, Trump was the overwhelming favorite to be the Republican nominee, regularly winning primary polls with upward of 50% of the vote.
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Support has surged for Trump’s perceived rivals since the midterm losses of his handpicked candidates like Herschel Walker in Georgia, Kari Lake in Arizona and Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania.
A Wall Street Journal poll of Republican primary voters found last month that Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leads Trump by double digits for the GOP nomination.
DeSantis has not announced his intention to run but has dropped a number of hints since Election Day. Many of his supporters chanted, “Two more years! Two more years!” after he won re-election on Nov. 8.
Trump faces other potential challenges, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.