Although a number of Republican candidates scored important midterm victories on Tuesday, the results fell far short of what many right-wing commentators had hoped to witness.
In response to the underwhelming GOP performance in certain races, one MSNBC personality could not help pointing a finger at former President Donald Trump.
According to Chris Hayes, Republican voters appear to have fallen under Trump’s spell and believe that he holds some mystical powers that midterm election results proved he does not possess.
"I think Republicans still ascribe to that man this totemic power that he does not have. He doesn't have some magic power," says @chrislhayes on Donald Trump.
"Republicans: He is unpopular. He screwed you today. He screwed you." pic.twitter.com/01LJN4Tlxd
— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) November 9, 2022
“I think part of the fretting is the 2016 PTSD, like, really, that was a seismic event in the history of American politics, in the history of the world, in the history of American democracy, right?” he said of Trump’s successful White House bid.
Hayes went on to take credit for being one of the few pundits who believed that Trump could defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton at the time, claiming that the upset victory had a massive impact on Americans across the ideological spectrum.
“I think that goes both ways,” he said. “Democrats have this sort of insecurity, right? I think Republicans still ascribe to [Trump] this totemic power that he does not have. He doesn’t have some magic power, I’m telling you Republicans.”
After ensuring that he was looking directly into the camera, Hayes added: “He doesn’t have a magic power. He is unpopular.”
Repeating his claim that Trump is an “unpopular” political figure, he seemed to suggest that the 45th president — who was not on the ballot anywhere in the United States — was at least partially to blame for lackluster turnout for Republican candidates.
“He screwed you today,” Hayes exclaimed. “He screwed you!”
While some of the candidates that Trump endorsed narrowly lost their respective races and other elections had not yet been decided as of this writing, it is clear that his backing helped propel several Republicas to victories in primary elections earlier this year.
Hayes later admitted that Trump is “not the full story” when it came to the results of midterm elections, though he continued to chastise those Republicans who continue to support the former president.
“It is part of the story,” he concluded. “And the sooner you dump him, the better it is for the Republican Party and for American democracy — full stop!”
