Donald Trump's Favorite Newspaper Turns on Him After Midterms Disaster

The New York Post, which Donald Trump once called his "favorite newspaper," has turned on the former president after disappointing midterm election results for the Republicans.

With results still coming in, it is unclear whether the GOP will take the Senate, as had been widely expected, with even control of the House still in contention.

Responding to the election results, the New York Post ran a photo of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, along with his family, on the front page, dubbing him "DeFuture."

The publication added: "Young GOP star DeSantis romps to victory in Florida."

DeSantis's performance was a rare bright spot for Republicans, with the governor securing reelection by a 19-point margin after winning by less than one percent in 2018.

For live updates on the midterms head over to Newsweek's Live Blog: Who Won the Midterm Elections 2022?—Senate, House, Governor Results.

DeSantis even flipped Miami-Dade, a majority Hispanic county, which backed a GOP candidate for the first time in two decades.

DeSantis has been widely touted as a possible Republican presidential candidate for 2024, a position which could put him into direct conflict with Trump. This week Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene asked DeSantis not to run for president, saying: "Please support President Trump because we need him back in the White House."

It is not the first time that the newspaper has criticized Trump. He described the New York Post as "once my favorite newspaper" in August, in a post on his Truth Social website.

The former president wrote: "The New York Post, once my favorite newspaper, in defense of Mitch McConnell's weak performance in stopping the ridiculous, record-setting spending being done by Democrats (which will ruin our Country!) by not using 'all of the tools in the tool box,' like Debt Ceiling, doesn't discuss, in their recent Editorial, the advertisements run in Georgia by the Democrats 'knocking' Mitch McConnell's $600 limit, versus $2,000+ by the Radical Left Dems."

Trump appeared to be responding to editorials published in the Post at the end of August, with one from August 29 titled: "Republicans are lucky to have Mitch McConnell: Trump's gripes are beyond ridiculous."

In the article, the Post's editorial board accused Trump of having handed "the Senate to the Democrats with his 'stolen election' lunacy determining the December 2020 runoffs in Georgia."

The Post's editorial board continued the criticism of Trump in an editorial on August 30 titled: "Republicans must move beyond Trump — to keep the focus on Biden's disasters."

"Republicans, and their candidates, need to keep the focus firmly on the big picture. Namely: Biden and the Democrats are an ongoing disaster—and Donald Trump is no help in digging America out of it," the editorial board wrote.

In July, the newspaper also wrote in an editorial that Trump's actions on January 6 were a matter of "eternal shame."

This week, Republicans secured a supermajority in both chambers of the Florida Legislature, flipping several seats that were long held by Democrats.

At a victory party on Tuesday night, DeSantis described his success in Florida as a "win for the ages."

Ahead of the midterm elections, Trump branded DeSantis "Ron DeSanctimonious," during a rally in Pennsylvania.

Speaking to CBS News, Mick Mulvaney, a former Trump White House chief of staff, said: "Between being Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis tonight, you want to be Ron DeSantis.

"DeSantis wins tonight and Trump is not doing very well."

A number of bookmakers have made DeSantis the favorite to be the GOP's 2024 presidential candidate.

According to a Newsweek analysis, at least 168 Republican "election deniers" were elected to the Senate, or senior state positions, on Tuesday.

Update 11/9/2022 1:00 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information.