Trump's CNN Rival Kaitlan Collins Uses Prez's 'Landslide' Claim Against Him as She Exposes His Midterm Blame Game

CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins challenged President Donald Trump's attempt to distance himself from Republicans' sweeping midterm losses, using his own campaign remarks to question why he was now blaming candidates and voters for the party's defeat.

During CNN's election coverage, Collins highlighted the contrast between Trump's repeated appeals for supporters to treat him as though he were on the ballot and his post-election insistence that his absence from the ballot explained the Republican losses.

The exchange came after Democrats secured projected victories that handed them control of both the House and Senate in the November 3 midterm elections, dealing a major setback to Trump's party.

Collins told CNN viewers that a White House official had sent her a message on election night as the results increasingly favored Democrats.

The official argued that Trump had done more to promote Republican candidates than the candidates had done for themselves.

"President Trump was not on the ballot, and it's proven that Trump voters show up when he is on the ballot," the official said in the message Collins read on air.

Collins discussed the response with CNN colleague Jake Tapper, pointing out the contradiction between the administration's explanation and Trump's own campaign strategy.

The president had spent weeks encouraging supporters to approach their ballots as though they were voting directly for him, making the White House's attempt to separate him from the results particularly notable.

Collins also challenged Trump's attempt to shift responsibility by highlighting several Republican candidates he had personally supported who subsequently lost their Senate races.

Her broadcast featured footage of Trump endorsing Mike Collins in Georgia, Michael Whatley in North Carolina, Ken Paxton in Texas, Darline Graham in South Carolina, and Mike Rogers in Michigan.

The candidates were defeated by Democrats Jon Ossoff, Roy Cooper, James Talarico, Annie Andrews and Abdul El-Sayed, respectively, according to reported election results.

Collins argued that Trump's involvement in those campaigns made it difficult for him to separate himself from the outcome.

"Blaming the voters is certainly an interesting strategy, given it was the president whose policies the voters themselves blamed, and it was this president who personally backed a slew of candidates that lost in huge races," she said.

Georgia and Michigan are particularly important distinctions: Democrats retained their existing Senate seats in those states, while Republicans lost seats in several other states, including North Carolina and Texas.

Trump has also threatened to turn his attention to political commentary, saying in a Truth Social post that he would become a political pundit and explain why certain candidates won or lost.

He subsequently directed criticism at Fox News, accusing the conservative network of contributing to the Republican defeats.

"Fox News bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Democrat opposition, and worse," he wrote on Truth Social.

Collins also questioned the administration's response to the election results, suggesting that officials were struggling to determine their next move.

"The Trump administration is lost right now. They're not really sure how to navigate this going forward," she told viewers.

The Democratic victories will give the party control of both chambers of Congress when the new Congress convenes in January, leaving Trump to contend with a Democratic-led legislature during the remaining two years of his term.