Trump lashes out at DeSantis and Youngkin

WASHINGTON — As former President Donald Trump readies for the planned launch Tuesday of his 2024 presidential campaign, he issued fresh broadsides against two Republican governors who emerged as early favorites to challenge him for his party’s nomination: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Trump’s attacks came as scores of Republican officials across the country placed the blame for their party’s disappointing results in Tuesday’s elections squarely on Trump’s doorstep.

“‘You’re fired!’ That’s the message Republicans must deliver to Donald Trump. ASAP!” said Republican New York Rep. Pete King, a longtime backer of Trump’s. “He held massive rallies where he ranted endlessly about himself, complained about the 2020 election and attacked other Republicans. It was Trump’s ego first, last and always,” King said in a tweet Thursday.

Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Trump’s support for candidates didn’t help them in general elections. “Trump’s endorsement comes with a cost. The cost is that it minimizes your ability to attract independents and to win in November,” Hutchinson said Friday on PBS’ “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover.”

Trump even appeared to have lost the support of influential conservative blogger Mike Cernovich, who told his 1 million Twitter followers that Tuesday’s losses meant “at least no one has to suck up to Trump anymore.”

Trump and his team responded to the blame in part by showcasing his record of having endorsed hundreds of winning candidates.

“President Trump has racked up over 215 wins for his endorsements — a truly unprecedented accomplishment and something only possible because of President Trump’s ability to pick and elect winners,” Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich told CNBC.

Trump-backed candidates did indeed win hundreds of races in the midterms, although many of them were in districts that were not considered competitive, and by candidates who were endorsed by Republicans across the party spectrum.

“There’s no question this was a bad election for Donald Trump,” said Asher Hildebrand, an associate professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. “With the possible exception of [gubernatorial candidate] Kari Lake in Arizona and [Senate candidate] Herschel Walker in Georgia, every governor and Senate candidate he endorsed in five main battleground states appears to have lost.”

“That combined with DeSantis’ strong showing in the Florida governor’s race increases pressure among Republican elites to find another standard bearer in 2024,” he added.

DeSantis won reelection in a landslide, defeating former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist by 19 points and winning accolades from conservative media and Republican officials.

In a lengthy statement…