Trump insists that the midterm results were a success for him, even as other Republicans brand them a failure

• Trump on Thursday tried to spin the GOP's disappointing midterm results as a success story.
• High-profile candidates Trump endorsed were beaten or underperformed.

Former President Donald Trump sought to portray the performance of candidates he endorsed in the midterm elections as a success, despite several in key contests crashing to defeat.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he singled out for criticism The New York Times' coverage of how his candidates fared in the election.

"So many of the people I Endorsed went on to victory on Tuesday Night, nobody was even close, and they literally make up a story refusing to write the facts, and only quoting enemies and losers," he said.

"Almost all of the people I endorsed WON, yet if you read the story from two Trump hating writers (who only do as they are told!), you would not even recognize the truth. They truly are, THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!!!" he wrote of The Times, returning to an old insult.

Trump endorsed more than 200 candidates elections, many of whom were running in safe seats where GOP candidates were expected to win regardless of who endorsed them.

Of the candidates he endorsed in competitive races, the results were mixed.

In Pennsylvania, Trump-endorsed Mehmet Oz was defeated by Democrat John Fetterman in the Senate race, hurting GOP chances of winning control of that chamber. His gubernatorial pick in the state, Doug Mastriano, was also defeated.

In Arizona, his Senate pick, Blake Masters, was trailing Democrat Mark Kelly as of Thursday morning.

The candidate he endorsed in the Georgia senate race, Herschel Walker, is facing a run-off election in December against Democratic rival Raphael Warnock after neither candidate got enough votes.

Overall, the Republican "red wave" of sweeping gains in the election that some analysts were anticipating did not arrive, and some Republicans moved to blame Trump.

They say the candidates he selected were poor quality and put off voters, with many having checkered pasts and embracing fringe views and conspiracy theories outside the political mainstream.

Trump had sought to use the triumph of his candidates in the midterms to launch his own bid to regain the presidency in 2024, but following Tuesday's underwhelming results some are advising him to hold off.