Trump acknowledges 'disappointing' election results

Donald Trump confessed his disappointment on Wednesday afternoon.

The former president closed the night by taking a victory lap for 174 wins. In truth, those are the number of Republicans in the House and not all of them were ones that he endorsed much less helped. But Trump was happy to take credit regardless.

"While in certain ways yesterday’s election was somewhat disappointing, from my personal standpoint it was a very big victory - 219 WINS and 16 Losses in the General - Who has ever done better than that?" asked Trump.

The post-mortem discussion among conservatives has been about whether Trump still has a place in the GOP. His litmus test for candidates has been whether they support the 2020 election conspiracy.

IN OTHER NEWS: ‘Stupid and reckless’: GOP operative declares ‘the end of the Trump era’ after midterm ‘catastrophe’

The new question is whether Trump will use the "wins" as a reason to propel a presidential campaign forward. On Election Day, Trump announced he would make a "big announcement" on Nov. 15. He also moved to attack Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who is thought to be a possible opponent in the GOP primary for president.