Longtime Trump backer Rick Santorum blames president for GOP's Virginia loss: He 'is not delivering'

Former Republican Senator Rick Santorum, a longtime backer and defender of President Donald Trump, said on Wednesday that the president shoulders a good deal of blame for the Republican Party's massive losses in Virginia on Tuesday.

During a CNN panel, Santorum acknowledged that Trump and the Republican Congress so far have accomplished very little -- and he warned that they would have to start following through on their campaign promises if they hoped to have any shot at being successful in the 2018 midterm elections.

"I think the bottom line is Donald Trump is not delivering on what he said he was going to deliver on, and that's the problem," Santorum said. "And he needs to deliver, and if there's a message for Republicans they better get that message and they better start passing stuff and looking like they can govern."

Santorum also took issue with Trump's decision to immediately blame Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie for Tuesday night's loss to Democratic nominee Ralph Northam. In fact, Santorum said that Trump's presidency fired up Democratic voters to turn out in numbers that swamped Gillespie's hopes of winning.

"It's not Ed's fault," Santorum said. "You're blaming it on Ed, and I just don't think it's Ed's fault."

Watch the video below.