Twitter CEO Elon Musk agreed Monday with former President Donald Trump’s claim that abortion was the best explanation for Republicans’ midterm losses.
Trump blamed the disappointing results on a handful of GOP candidates opposing abortion exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. The former president made the claim in a Truth Social post in which he attempted to dispel the idea that he ruined the party’s chances for a “red wave” by endorsing bad candidates in the primaries.
Trump’s picks — including Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz and Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker — lost several high-profile races that were widely viewed as winnable.
“It wasn’t my fault that the Republicans didn’t live up to expectations in the MidTerms. I was 233-20!” Trump wrote Sunday, referring to the winning record of the candidates he endorsed. A midterm analysis conducted by The New York Times found that Trump’s preferred candidates performed five points worse than other Republicans in House races.
“It was the ‘abortion issue,’ poorly handled 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,” Trump continued. “Also, the people that pushed so hard, for decades, against abortion, got their wish from the U.S. Supreme Court, & just plain disappeared, not to be seen again. Plus, Mitch stupid $’s!”
Musk replied to Trump’s statement in a Monday tweet, appearing to agree with the former president’s assertion.
“Mostly accurate tbh,” Musk wrote, using the acronym for “to be honest.”
Mostly accurate tbh
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 2, 2023
Ahead of the midterms, a handful of red states implemented bans or severe restrictions on abortion, except in cases that threatened the mother’s life. Prior to the June 24 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which revoked the constitutional right to an abortion, Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt passed legislation intended to ban nearly all abortions, including of cases of rape and incest. Other states, including Texas and Tennessee, responded to the decision by moving to enact trigger bans that were in place before Dobbs. (RELATED: ‘Only Just Begun’: Elon Musk Threatens Reputation Of ‘Legacy Media’ In Cryptic Tweet)
Polls have shown that a majority of Americans support legalized abortion in the first trimester, but that support drops drastically in the second and third trimesters. For example, a 2018 Gallup poll found that just 28% of Americans support abortion in the second trimester. The Gallup poll surveyed 1,024 adults between May 1-10, 2018, with a 4% margin of error.