Trump demands he get the blame for this GOP-ending whupping

Can you feel it? The big blue wave is coming to wash over a country that’s been cowering in fear and captivity for the past 21 months.

I know Trump will cry foul, claim the vote was rigged, look to tie the results up in court, possibly attempt to keep winning Democratic senators and representatives from being seated. But I don’t care. Enough with the stressing over what the Corruptor in Chief might do. The midterms are going to be our time, when sanity reenters the equation, and whatever he tries simply isn’t going to work this time.

His reckoning is about to go down.

There. Feel better? I know I do just writing it.

We should all be done with his declarations that he will respect the election results only “if they’re honest elections.” That’s obviously outrageously insincere, as the only way the elections won’t be honest is if his people screw with them. This is a no-brainer. He is already manufacturing a context for contesting things, and that context is called, “we can’t lose.” We have seen this movie a million times before. It plays on an endless loop.

What I know for sure is that the president is insane. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be going to such great pains to make this election cycle about himself. I love the idea of his making the imminent landslide a referendum on the most immoral, unethical, fraudulent, unhinged public figure in American history.

In fact, I think we should first look at Trump’s numbers to underscore exactly why the impending Republican drubbing is a thousand percent about him. Here is a numerical portrait of his political, legal, economic and personal legacy from 2015 to 2026:

Felony Convictions: 34

Criminal Indictments: 4

Felony Counts Originally Charged: 91

Corporate Bankruptcies: 6

Presidential Impeachments: 2

Times Flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s Private Jet: 7

Fake Charities Shut Down: 1

Fake Universities Shut Down: 1

Fake University Fraud Settlement: $25 million

E. Jean Carroll Civil Sexual Abuse and Defamation Verdict Payout: $5 million

Additional Civil Damages Awarded to Carroll in 2024: $83.3 million

False or Misleading Claims During His First Presidency: 30,573

Additional Votes Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find”: 11,780

January 6 Defendants Granted Clemency: 1,500+

Capitol Police Officers Assaulted During January 6 Capitol Attack: 140+

Public Sexual Assault Allegations: 26

Draft Deferments: 5

Confirmed Rounds of Golf Played at Trump-Owned Courses During His Second Term Through October 26, 2026: 143

Number of Golf Rounds Played During First Presidential Term: 318

Criminal Mugshots: 1

Electoral College Result in 2020, Joe Biden Over Trump: 306-232

Biden’s Popular Vote Margin Over Trump in 2020: 7 million

Cumulative Increase in Consumer Prices Since Trump Returned to Office: 5.4%

Decline in Americans Receiving SNAP Food Assistance Since January 2025: 6 million

Federal Government Jobs Eliminated or Lost Through June 2026: 324,000

Estimated Deaths Due to USAID Funding Cuts: 781,343 (518,000 children, 262,915 adults)

Projected Additional Deaths Worldwide By 2030 Due to USAID Funding Cuts: 14.1 million

Americans Who Died of COVID By January 20, 2021, the Day Trump Left Office: 401,000

Increase in Number of Americans Without Health Insurance in Trump’s First Term: 3 million

Number of Americans Who Lost Health Insurance Between January 2025 and June 2026: 10.88 million

Additional Americans Projected to Lose Health Coverage in 2027: 5.2 million

Initially Announced Cost of Trump’s White House Ballroom in July 2025: $200 million

Later Revised Ballroom Cost: $400 million

Revised Ballroom Estimate March 2026: $600 million

Taxpayer-Funded Portion of Ballroom: $307 million

Historic White House East Wing Demolished to Make Way for Ballroom: 1

Mexico’s Direct Payment Toward Construction of Border Wall During First Term: $0

And let’s also remember the things Trump has destroyed to which you can’t really attach numbers to measure. I’m talking about:

• The erosion of trust in elections.
• The peaceful transfer of power.
• The acceptance of electoral defeat.
• Respect for constitutional limits.
• The independence of the Justice Department.
• The legitimacy of the judiciary.
• The integrity of the Supreme Court.
• The autonomy of the civil service and Congressional oversight.
• The distinction between public service and personal loyalty.
• Confidence that the rules apply equally to everyone.
• Trust in objective truth.
• Confidence in journalism.

The list goes on and on. Due to Trump, there are now unfounded attacks on scientific expertise, distrust in public-health institutions, disrespect for the educational system, diminution in the independence of universities, even the relative value placed on expertise itself. And if the government tells us something now, we’re inclined to believe the opposite must be true.

Perhaps most galling to me is his responsibility for the deterioration in basic civility. Because of this monster, it’s now difficult to recall a time when we could disagree with others without branding them as horrible people, without becoming mortal enemies. The presumption of good faith, the safety of political dissent, the freedom to criticize without fear of retribution, all of these inherently American concepts have been erased.

Yes, Mr. President, by all means let’s make next week’s election about you. About how you have done so much to erase decorum and decency and dignity and transformed our discourse into a blizzard of unfounded allegations, petty complaints and confrontational rage. About how you have shattered America’s credibility and standing on the world stage.

You have lifted stupidity to exalted status and traded diplomacy for a series of mob tactics designed to demonize anyone with whom you disagree. You elevate murderous autocrats and condemn trusted allies. And you, sir, are the greatest traitor who has ever stained the Oval Office, doing everything in your considerable power to bestow “humanitarian” credibility onto an unapologetic savage in Vladimir Putin.

So, let’s absolutely attach your face, name and reputation to every midterm race there is, because your party’s over and the sound whupping that’s about to materialize is all your fault. It isn’t a repudiation of the candidates, but entirely of you.

Thank you for your attention to this matter!

(Ray Richmond is a longtime journalist/author and an adjunct professor at Chapman University in Orange, CA.)