WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump blamed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Fox News for Republican election losses in a series of Truth Social posts Tuesday night, while claiming his party would have won decisively if he had been on the ballot.
The posts published after 5 p.m. Pacific on November 3 focused on defending Trump’s political strength, criticizing Abbott and faulting Fox News for giving airtime to Democrats.
In a post responding to the election results, Trump wrote: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
Trump did not provide evidence supporting that hypothetical outcome. His message offered his own explanation for the Republican setbacks without acknowledging responsibility for the performance of candidates he supported.
Trump Turns on Abbott
In a separate post targeting Abbott, Trump accused the Texas governor of becoming a “RINO,” short for “Republican in name only,” during the final six months of his political career.
Trump argued that Abbott would not have lost otherwise, adding that the governor had returned to his “original formula.”
The president did not explain what that phrase meant or identify specific policy decisions that he believed caused Abbott’s defeat. The post presented Trump’s assessment of the race without polling or campaign data to support it.
Fox News Draws Criticism
Trump also directed blame at Fox News, questioning why the network featured former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio during its election coverage.
In his post criticizing de Blasio and Fox, Trump attacked the former mayor’s record and said the network bore responsibility for Republican losses because it repeatedly featured Democratic voices.
The post did not provide evidence connecting the network’s guest choices to election outcomes.
It extended a dispute with Fox that had begun before the 5 p.m. Pacific starting point for this article. Earlier Tuesday, Trump posted attacks on commentator Jessica Tarlov, the network’s polling questions and its ratings and coverage of Democrats.
Those earlier messages provided context for his later accusation that the network contributed to Republican defeats.
More Election Commentary Promised
Trump followed his criticism of Abbott with a post announcing plans to weigh in on individual races.
He said he would become a political commentator on why candidates won or lost, signaling that he intended to continue offering his own assessments of the election.
Trump also shared an image of a red hat displaying the word “VETO”. The image offered a brief signal of potential legislative confrontation, though the post did not identify a specific bill or proposal he intended to reject.
Taken together, the evening’s messages placed blame on a Republican governor and a major television network while maintaining that Trump’s own presence on the ballot would have produced a different result.
Editor’s note: This report covers verified posts located after 5 p.m. PST on November 3, with earlier posts included for context. It is not a complete inventory of posts through November 4.