Donald Trump faced unusual public attacks from across the Republican Party on Wednesday after a string of midterm losses by candidates he had handpicked and supported, a display of weakness as he prepared to announce a third presidential campaign as soon as next week.
As the sheer number of missed Republican opportunities sank in, the rush to openly blame Trump was as immediate as it was surprising.
Conservative allies criticized Trump on social media and cable news, questioning whether he should continue as the party’s leader and pointing to his toxic political brand as the common thread woven through three consecutive lackluster election cycles.
Trump was seen as largely to blame for the Republicans’ underwhelming finish in Tuesday’s elections, as a number of the candidates he had endorsed in competitive races were defeated — including nominees for governor and Senate in Pennsylvania and for governor of Michigan, New York and Wisconsin.
“Republicans have followed Donald Trump off the side of a cliff,” David Urban, a longtime Trump adviser with ties to Pennsylvania, said in an interview.
Former Rep. Peter King, R‑N.Y., who has long supported Trump, said, “I strongly believe he should no longer be the face of the Republican Party,” adding that the party “can’t become a personality cult.”
The chorus of criticism, which unfolded on Fox News and social media throughout the day, revealed Trump to be at his most vulnerable point politically since the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Still, Trump has built a deep well of loyalty with Republican voters, and party officials cautioned that it was too soon to tell whether he would suffer any lasting political damage beyond a flurry of bad headlines, or whether a rival will emerge to challenge him. Trump has built a career on outlasting political controversy, and Trump aides insisted that any suggestion of weakness was a media confection.
“I am proud to endorse Donald Trump for president in 2024,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R‑N.Y., said in a statement. “It is time for Republicans to unite around the most popular Republican in America who has a proven track record of conservative governance.”
Sen.-elect J.D. Vance, R‑Ohio, an early choice of Trump, said he believed Trump would be the nominee if he runs. “Every year, the media writes Donald Trump’s political obituary. And every year, we’re quickly reminded that Trump remains the most popular figure in the Republican Party,” he said. And Rep. Jim Banks, R‑Ind., said he supported Trump, who “transformed our party.”
Stefanik, Vance and Banks all provided statements after The New York Times sought comment from an aide to Trump.
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