 Donald Trump is still a little bit hurt about the fact that Republicans and many mainstream news pundits blamed him for the GOP's election losses in 2022. And as a result, he's still coping by saying, actually, it's not me. And something that he says here is really interesting. And I think that he's correct to a degree. The problem with what he's saying here is that he is assuming that we're not also going to think that he is as culpable as the people who he's accusing. So he wrote this via TruthSocial. It wasn't my fault that the Republicans didn't live up to expectations in the midterms. I was 233 to 20. It was the abortion issues handled poorly by many Republicans, especially those that firmly insisted on no exceptions, even in the case of rape, incest, or life of the mother, that lost large numbers of voters. Also, the people that pushed so hard for decades against abortion got their wish from the U.S. Supreme Court and just plain disappeared, not to be seen again, plus Mitch stupid monies. Maybe he's saying Mitch is stupid ass. I don't really know what he's saying, but Mitch wasn't necessarily the one who endorsed bad candidates like you did, Herschel Walker, Dr. Oz. But what he's saying there, I think that there is some truth to it. The problem is that he's only admitting to half of the problem here. Yes, it is indeed the case that once Roe v. Wade was overturned, Republicans let their freak flags fly, and they kind of showed to the world that they really are a threat, immediately saying we should ban abortion in all 50 states. There should be no exceptions for rape or incest, but it's just in general abortion as an issue is not a winner for the GOP. And Trump, to his credit, actually was aware of this. So back in June, former President Donald Trump, who installed a solid conservative majority on the Supreme Court, heralded the court's overturning of Roe v. Wade as the biggest win for life in a generation. Mr. Trump has, however, privately expressed concern that the high court's decision could motivate Democrats ahead of the midterm elections, hurting Republicans who otherwise face a favorable political climate according to a person familiar with his thinking. So support for exceptions aside, Trump knew that the issue of abortion would come back to bite Republicans in the ass, although he did also believe, reportedly, that it would help shore up the GOP's base in more battleground states. But the problem is that if you can't win independence, if you're turning off normies, you're going to lose. But Trump is trying to find some ways to obfuscate his own problems in the way that he contributed to the GOP not winning. I mean, they still won, right? But not winning as big as it was predicted by polls and pundits. So he's trying to say, it's all them and not me. But if it is the case that he thinks that the GOP's extremist position on abortion or position on abortion, more broadly speaking, is an issue, well, he's responsible for that. He has taken credit for nominating the Supreme Court justices who ultimately voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. And he did pander to extremists on this issue because on the campaign trail back in 2016, remember how he literally raised the specter of punishing women who got abortions. Let's watch. Do you believe in punishment for abortion? Yes or no? Is it a principle? The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment. For the woman? Yeah. It has to be some form. Ten years. I don't know. That I don't know. Why not? You take positions in everything else? Frankly, I do take positions in everything else. It's a very complicated position. I'm asking, you're running for president. I'm not. I'm asking you, what should a woman face if she chooses to have an abortion? Why not? Yeah. So he played his role too, but let's be very clear and address the elephant in the room. Donald Trump doesn't give a damn about abortion. He doesn't care about what did or didn't hurt Republicans for him. This is all about whether or not he's going to take blame or not. And currently it's the case, I think, arguably that most Republicans view him as one of the main reasons, if not the sole reason that the Republican Party underperformed in the 2022 midterms and he needs to rehabilitate his own record because he's running a new campaign, the 2024 presidential campaign. And if they view him as an electoral liability, that's going to hurt his chances. And the polls have kind of indicated that he is in a bit of trouble when juxtaposed against Ron DeSantis or Biden in a general hypothetical matchup. So he's trying to save face currently, and that's what this is about. He doesn't care about the GOP's position on abortion. They could be pro-choice for all he cares. He just wants to make sure that he doesn't get blamed because it's never been about the GOP or the issues. It's always about what benefits him exclusively. And he further demonstrated this by sharing an article that encouraged him to run third party instead of within the Republican Party, which means he'd play spoiler and destroy the GOP's chances of winning back the White House in 2024. Per Rolling Stone, Trump promoted an article from conservative publication American Greatness by writer Dan Gullerinter. Gullerinter compared Trump to the late president Teddy Roosevelt, whose run for a third term as president and third party bid in 1912 was widely blamed for splitting Republican ranks in handing over the election to Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson. Although Gullerinter admits that Trump running as a third party candidate in 2024 would likely meet a similar fate, he declares his allegiance to the former president and suggests a Republican loss would teach the corrupt gravy train a lesson. I love how it's assumed that Trump isn't part of that corrupt gravy train as he explicitly profited from being president. His businesses were booming. His hotels were booming while he was president. I mean, it's influence peddling, but I guess Trump is outside of that. And he's also not part of the swamp in DC, even though he was the embodiment of the swamp, but that's neither here nor there. What Trump is doing here is tacitly threatening the GOP. He's saying, if you don't vote for me, we're all going to lose together. Because if you nominate Ron DeSantis, if you try to screw me over, that is to the RNC and the GOP establishment, I will make sure you all suffer the consequences. So in a way, I love that he's doing this because he's kind of holding the Republican party hostage and he has been doing that for years. But he's saying, I'll put it all on the line. I will crush all of our chances if the base doesn't nominate me, if leadership does not explicitly and unequivocally support me. And it's great to see it. This would be the most hilarious outcome of the 2024 GOP presidential primary. That's even possible. And the GOP would be shrieking at the top of their lungs. But oh, my God, I hope he does this. It would be hilarious. But it's because of things like this. It's because of the leverage that he still has, which is why the GOP leadership has to play into Trump's little game. But privately, they talk shit about him, even though publicly they praise him. For example, the third ranking Republican in the House, at least DeFonic, reportedly described Trump as a whack job in private. And yeah, that's pretty obvious, right? Anyone with common sense can see that Donald Trump is unstable. He's an imbecile. He's narcissistic. He only cares about himself, but they can't say that because they know the damage that Trump can do to the overall GOP apparatus. And it's just it's to think about the possibilities is hilarious. But because this is America, probably the most boring outcome will end up coming to fruition where Trump just wins the GOP nomination outright and doesn't have to run third party. But even though I'm worried about Ron DeSantis more so than Donald Trump and the damage that he can cause, in a way, I'm kind of rooting for Ron DeSantis to win the GOP primary, assuming that Trump will be so butthurt that he mounts an independent challenge and just sinks Ron DeSantis and himself and all of Republicans. That would be incredible. So remember when it comes to Donald Trump, there's only one thing to keep in mind. Anything that he's saying is exclusively to benefit himself. And that's it period. Full stop. And this here is no different scapegoating over abortion and extremists. That's no different. It's all just about him and whether or not he still can be the biggest influence peddler have the most influence in the Republican Party. And people will doubt whether or not his word is liable or whether or not he still has the cloud. If they view him instead of abortion extremists as the reason why the GOP underperformed in twenty twenty two. So it's always about Trump at the end of the day. But I'm preaching to the choir because all of you know that.