US President Donald Trump has blamed what he called “fake Republicans” within his party and media outlet Fox News for the Republican Party’s losses in the midterm elections.

In a series of posts on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he would analyse the reasons behind candidates’ victories and defeats. He also criticised Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

In one post, Trump wrote: “I am going to be a political analyst, both positive and negative, on the reasons why candidates won and why they lost.”

Referring to Abbott, Trump suggested that the Texas governor would not have lost if he had not been a “RINO” during the final six months of his political career.

RINO stands for “Republican in Name Only”, a term used by critics to describe politicians who identify as Republicans but are considered insufficiently aligned with the party’s principles or positions.

Trump also shared an image of a red cap bearing the word “VETO”. The image was interpreted as a possible reference to his presidential power to veto legislation passed by Congress if Democrats gain control of either chamber.

The president also took aim at Fox News, questioning why former New York City Democratic mayor Bill de Blasio had been included on the network’s political analysis panel.

Accusing the network of contributing to the Republican setbacks, Trump said: “Fox News is responsible for these losses by constantly and consistently putting Democrats and worse on.”

Trump’s remarks following the Republicans’ midterm election losses have renewed attention to divisions within his party and his strained relationship with sections of the media.