Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis delivered to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
Donald Trump is playing defense the only way he knows how after the Republican Party failed to post a strong showing in Tuesday’s midterm elections and left the Democratic Senate and House still potentially intact. The former president took to the Truth Social platform Thursday morning to denounce media reports that he was furious with his allies over the GOP’s inability to capture the House and Senate for good. He specifically denied a report that claimed he blamed his wife, Melania Trump, for persuading him to support Dr. Mehmet Oz, the GOP candidate who was defeated in the race for the open Pennsylvania Senate seat. “For those many people who are being fed the false narrative by the corrupt media that I’m angry about the midterms, don’t believe it. I’m not mad at all, I did a great job (I wasn’t the one running!) and I’m too busy looking to the future. Remember, I’m a ‘fixed genius,’” she posted. In another post, he wrote: “There is a false story being published by Third Reporter Maggie Hagaman of the Failing New York Times that I am accusing our great former First Lady Melania and Sean Hannity of being angry with them for pushing me to Support Dr. . Oz. First of all, Oz is a great guy who really worked hard and was a very good candidate, but he was in the race long before I endorsed him, they had nothing to do with it, he wasn’t a “denier” (his mistake!), and I wasn’t angry at all. Fake News!” The claim was made by Maggie Haberman, an accomplished reporter on the Trumpworld beat for the New York Times. Haberman tweeted on Wednesday: “Trump is really furious this morning, especially about Mehmet Oz, and is blaming everyone who advised him to support Oz — including his wife, calling it not her best decision, according to with persons close to him”. Dr. Oz narrowly won the GOP Senate primary in Pennsylvania earlier this year after securing Mr. Trump’s endorsement, defeating two conservative opponents who had vied for the Trump-aligned electorate in the race. At the time of Mr. Trump’s decision, his endorsement of Dr. Oz was unpopular with many conservative and far-right pundits, given Dr. Oz’s lackluster conservative ideas. Those concerns would be confirmed over the summer, as Dr. Oz was relentlessly hounded by his now-victorious opponent, John Fetterman, over his history of living in New Jersey and tenuous connections to the state he hoped to represent. Republicans saw a resurgence in the early fall as a wave of national ad spending swamped the Democratic ticket, but ultimately proved unable to overcome the lieutenant governor’s campaign as it forced the GOP candidate to compete even in deep red districts. The midterms have generally been a blow for Donald Trump, with many GOP primaries across the country decided on his support, and so many have blamed the former president for the GOP’s poor showing. A wave of editorials in far-right media outlets followed the GOP’s dismal performance, prompting a backlash from the former president.
