Texas was supposed to be the kind of Republican stronghold that Democrats rarely get to celebrate. Yet the report describes a political bloodbath for Republicans, with Fox News reporting that Democrats won both the House and the Senate. In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Gov. Greg Abbott, ending his bid for a fourth term. The Associated Press reported that Hinojosa will become the first Democratic governor of Texas since 1995. A state treated as a Republican fortress just handed Democrats a major opening. That is a rough election night, and not exactly the sort of result GOP voters were hoping to unwrap.
President Trump was not in a mood for a polite congratulatory note. He responded to Abbott’s loss on Truth Social Tuesday night, and his criticism was direct. Trump wrote: “If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn’t become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn’t have lost,” followed by: “He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!”
RINO stands for “Republican in name only,” and Trump’s argument was that Abbott’s political shift cost him the race. The wording left very little room for creative interpretation, which is probably why political consultants are not charging by the syllable for this one.
Trump then announced his intention to analyze the election himself, writing: “I’m going to become a Political Pundit, both good and bad, on the reasons these Candidates won and lost!” At least the post-election review will not suffer from a shortage of opinions. Trump made his view of Abbott’s defeat known before the usual parade of consultants could turn it into a fog of poll numbers and carefully polished phrases.
Trump’s comments about the broader election took a different route. Forbes reported that he told The New York Times, “I am absolutely willing to accept those results,” while saying he looked forward to working with Democrats. He added, “We’ll probably work something out.” That acknowledgment came shortly after Trump posted: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
The post came as Democrats won key offices and congressional seats in states including Georgia, Texas, South Carolina and North Carolina, according to the report. So, on the same election night, Trump was blaming a Republican for losing Texas while offering to work with Democrats nationally. Politics does enjoy serving a split-screen drama when a simple script would have been too boring.
Earlier Tuesday evening, Trump repeatedly criticized Fox News, including personal jabs at a host and complaints that the network gave “too much” coverage to Democrats ahead of the midterms. The network did not escape the post-election review either. The report also said Trump signaled that he would use his veto power in a separate post.
The report included a video and the two social media posts tied to the election-night reaction:
After all the shouting, the report presents two main Trump arguments. In Texas, he said Abbott lost because he became a RINO. On the national results, he said he would accept the outcome and try to work with Democrats. For Republicans, the story offers a blunt warning about the political cost of losing connection with the voters who expect candidates to stand by their stated principles.
The Texas governor’s race ended with Abbott’s concession, Hinojosa’s victory and Trump weighing in before the night was over. Texas delivered a very blue wake-up call, and Trump made sure his opinion was not mistaken for a footnote.
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