President Donald Trump has never taken kindly to losing elections. He’s often tried to explain it away by citing bogus claims of mass voter fraud.
But ahead of the 2026 midterm election, he appears to be lining up another culprit and scapegoat: his fellow Republicans.
Repeatedly in recent weeks, Trump has suggested that if congressional Republicans lose big in November, they will have themselves to blame — and certainly not him.
This is ridiculous, of course. Trump is historically unpopular and appears to have alienated many voters even in his own party in ways that clearly harm the GOP’s midterm hopes. Congressional Republicans could certainly have insulated themselves better from Trump’s problems and stood up more to his excesses, but he would clearly shoulder the lion’s share of the blame.
Regardless, though, Trump blaming the GOP for its own losses — if they do indeed lose control of either chamber — would set up a very interesting intraparty clash at a particularly sensitive time. It would come as it’s licking its wounds from a bad election and perhaps considering a new path forward from the Trump era.
