Former President Donald Trump is facing more criticism from members of his party after Tuesday’s election results.
Speaking to PBS News, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), a friend and former adviser to Trump, said that after the midterm elections, Republicans have “a fundamental decision to make.”
“We lost in ’18. We lost in ’20. We lost in ’21 in Georgia. And now in ’22 we’re going to net lose governorships, we’re not going to pick up the number of seats in the House that we thought and we may not win the Senate despite a president who has a 40% job approval,” he went on. “There’s only one person to blame for that and that’s Donald Trump.”
The former governor ripped into Trump’s method of choosing candidates to support in the midterms.
“The only animating factor (for him) in determining an endorsement is, ‘Do you believe the 2020 election was stolen or don’t you?’”
By contrast, Christie said the question should be, “It’s not, ‘Can you raise money?’ It’s not, ‘Do you have an articulatable vision for the future of your state or your district?’ It’s not evidence of past success in communicating to voters. It is a completely self-centered determination.”
His comments come as Republicans are feeling disappointed with the results from the midterms in which it appears they failed to clinch a commanding majority in the House. It is also unclear which party will control the Senate as Arizona and Nevada are too close to call, and Georgia is headed to a run-off.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump admitted that “in certain ways yesterday’s election was somewhat disappointing.”
However, he added, “From my personal standpoint it was a very big victory – 219 WINS and 16 Losses in the General – Who has ever done better than that?”
He has also sent several posts denying reports that said he was upset with the election results.
“For those many people that are being fed the fake narrative from the corrupt media that I am Angry about the Midterms, don’t believe it. I am not at all angry, did a great job (I wasn’t the one running!), and am very busy looking into the future. Remember, I am a ‘Stable Genius,'” Trump wrote in one post.
Republican strategist David Urban, a former Trump adviser, told PBS, “Of course, he’s going to claim victory, right? The president touts an accomplishment record that includes victories in uncontested races. He can say whatever he wants.”
“But how do people feel in America? I think people feel not great about the Trump brand right now,” he continued. “It’s bad.”
The criticism of Trump comes as he is expected to announce another presidential bid on Nov. 15.
But even those who have been supportive of him have urged him to at least delay the announcement.
However, NBC News’ Marc Caputo tweeted on Thursday that a Trump adviser says the former president is planning to move forward with the announcement.
