(The Hill) — Former President Donald Trump on Thursday apologized to his wife, Melania Trump, and Fox News host Sean Hannity for reports circulating about their reaction to his endorsement of Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz, dismissing the accounts as “fictional stories.”
“I’d like to apologize to Melania and Sean Hannity for all of the Fake News and fictional stories (made up out of thin air, with no sources despite them claiming there are!), being dumped on you by reporters and ‘News’ Organizations who know these stories are not true,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“The Fake News Media is ‘Crazed’ and totally out of control. I only wish the public could understand how really corrupt and crooked they are. They MAKE UP stories and then push them down your throats. Our Country is in big trouble!” Trump added.
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, who has closely followed the former president for years, said Wednesday that Trump spent the day after the midterms “furious” after congressional Republicans failed to produce a “red wave” of significant wins over Democrats.
In Pennsylvania, Trump-backed Oz lost one of the cycle’s most closely watch battles, with Democratic nominee John Fetterman successfully flipping a seat currently held by the GOP.
“Trump is indeed furious this morning, particularly about Mehmet Oz, and is blaming everyone who advised him to back Oz — including his wife, describing it as not her best decision, according to people close to him,” Haberman wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
ABC News also reported that Trump was angry with Hannity for pushing him to back Oz.
“Worth remembering that Trump is a grown man who endorsed Oz over the objection of some of the people closest to him,” Haberman said.
Some in Trump’s orbit are pushing him to reschedule the expected announcement of his 2024 presidential plans next week, though that would mean “acknowledging he’s wounded” by the midterm results, Haberman noted.
An unnamed Trump adviser said it would be “too humiliating to delay” the announcement after Tuesday’s turnout, CNN’s Jim Acosta shared in a tweet, adding the adviser said “Trump is livid” and “screaming at everyone” after his favored candidates failed to deliver big wins on Tuesday.
Trump has insisted the GOP’s midterm results were a “very big victory” despite being “somewhat disappointing.” The former president has repeatedly teased launching another White House bid and has an announcement scheduled at his Mar-a-Lago resort next Tuesday.