Republicans blame Trump for sweeping midterm losses

Republicans are angrily blaming President Donald Trump for the party's sweeping midterm defeat, with Democrats winning upset victories in deep-red states like Texas, Kansas and South Carolina and seizing control of Congress. Party operatives say Trump's focus on his legacy, unpopular policies on Iran, tariffs and immigration, and indifference to voter concerns cost them the election. One Texas lobbyist called it "a disaster of the first magnitude" and a "total, complete rejection" of the president. Trump dismissed the results, claiming he would have won in a landslide if he had been on the ballot. Republicans now face a motivated Democratic majority eager to investigate the administration, while some strategists say the party must turn the page from the Trump era.