“Well, I think if they win, I should get all the credit,” Donald Trump told a reporter on the eve of the 2022 midterm elections. “If they lose, I should not be blamed at all.” The former president’s smirk betrayed his attempt at self-deprecating humor. But like all good jokes, Trump’s remark contained an element of truth. The likely GOP presidential nominee has become proficient at deflecting blame for his party’s electoral losses away from himself and his movement. In Trump’s preferred formulation, neither can fail on their merits. They can only be betrayed.
That was the essence of Trump’s post-mortem analysis of Republican Mazi Melesa Pilip’s special-election loss on Tuesday night in the race to replace the ousted former New York representative George Santos.
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