Donald Trump Blames Mitch McConnell for His Candidate Losing

Former President Donald Trump is blaming the election failure of Republican Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Cameron, Kentucky's outgoing attorney general, lost to Democratic Governor Andy Beshear by a five-point margin in the red state on Tuesday. Trump had given an enthusiastic endorsement of Cameron's gubernatorial ambitions, calling him "absolutely outstanding in every way" in 2022.

The former president argued in a Truth Social post on Wednesday that his endorsement of Cameron had boosted the Republican hopeful's chances by "25 points." Beshear had a significant lead over Cameron in early polling before recent numbers showed the race tightening, although the governor never had a 25-point lead.

Trump then attempted to distance himself from the GOP failure in Kentucky, a state that he won by 25 points in 2020, by blaming Cameron's loss on his close relationship with McConnell, a Kentucky Republican who frequently finds himself in the crosshairs of the former president.

"Daniel Cameron lost because he couldn't alleviate the stench of Mitch McConnell," Trump wrote. "I told him early that's a big burden to overcome. McConnell and [Utah Senator Mitch] Romney are Kryptonite for Republican Candidates.

"I moved him up 25 Points, but the McConnell relationship was 'too much to bear.'"

Newsweek reached out to McConnell's office via email on Wednesday for comment.

Trump went on to to praise and congratulate Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, saying that the Republican "surged to a win" on Tuesday over Democratic candidate Brandon Presley with his endorsement.

Trump also repeatedly praised Cameron, a former aide to McConnell, prior to his loss.

Hours before the election, Trump urged Kentucky voters to cast ballots for Cameron, telling them on Truth Social that they would be proud of their votes and Cameron "will never let you down."

Trump also touted Cameron's "huge surge" in the polls and argued that he was not "a McConnell guy," while predicting that Cameron would bring Kentucky to new levels of success in a post on November 4.

"Wow, Daniel Cameron of Kentucky has made a huge surge, now that they see my strong Endorsement, and the fact that he's not really 'a McConnell guy,'" Trump wrote. "They only try to label him that because he comes from the Great State of Kentucky."

"Anyway, Go Daniel, great future for you and your State—You will bring it to new levels of success, and I will help you!"

While the former president ultimately argued that Cameron's failure had nothing to do with him and was instead because of his association with McConnell, others argued that Trump's endorsement has a track record of helping Republicans to lose high-profile races.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, one of Trump's challengers for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, blamed the Republican 2023 election failures on the former president and said that Republicans need to "rid ourselves of Donald Trump" to win.

"Trump endorsed candidate Daniel Cameron loses the Governor's race in DEEP RED Kentucky," Christie wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter. "Another loss for Trump. The losing will only end for Republicans if we rid ourselves of Donald Trump. Trump—loser in '18, '20, '21, '22 and now '23."