Trump taunts Republicans who wanted him to stay away and then lost: 'Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost'

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Trump taunts Republicans who wanted him to stay away and then lost: 'Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost'

donald trump

Associated Press/Evan Vucci

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018, in Washington.

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  • President Donald Trump on Wednesday taunted Republican candidates who lost after they distanced themselves from him.
  • "Mia Love gave me no love. And she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia," he said, referring to the Republican incumbent who lost reelection to Utah's 4th congressional district.
  • But many Republicans who did campaign with Trump also lost their races.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday mocked several Republican candidates who lost races in the 2018 midterm elections after failing to "embrace" him or his agenda.

At a press conference, Trump called out some of those Republicans by name, taunting them and suggesting they would have won if they had aligned themselves more closely with him, even though many Republicans who did campaign with Trump also lost their races.

"Mia Love. I saw Mia Love," Trump said, referring to the Republican incumbent who lost re-election to Utah's fourth Congressional district. "She called me all the time to help her with a hostage situation. Being held hostage in Venezuela, but Mia Love gave me no love. And she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that, Mia."

Trump had been referring to his work with Love early in his presidency to secure the release of Utah man Joshua Holt, who had been jailed in Venezuela since 2016.

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Trump also assailed Barbara Comstock, Carlos Curbelo, and Mike Coffman - Republican House candidates from Virginia, Florida, and Colorado, respectively.

"Too bad, Mike," Trump said. "And Barbara Comstock was another one. I mean, I think she could have won that race. But she didn't want to have any embrace. For that, I don't blame her. But she lost. Substantially lost."

Read more: Midterm key takeaways: Trump's message flops, and Democrats set the stage for 2020

But Axios noted on Wednesday that Trump-endorsed candidates yielded a mixed bag of results. Of the 33 candidates Trump endorsed via Twitter in the days leading up to the election, just 12 have won so far, 16 lost, and five races are still up in the air.

"You had some that decided, 'Let's stay away.' They did very poorly," Trump said. "I'm not sure that I should be happy or sad. But I feel just fine about it."

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