- Trump is becoming isolated as he fumes about the midterm results, CBS reporter Robert Costa said.
- Several in his inner circle said they avoid him as he rants and lashes out at his rivals.
Former President Donald Trump is in "self-destruct mode" and becoming isolated from his inner circle as he reels over the midterm-election results, sources told the CBS correspondent Robert Costa.
After speaking with several of Trump's longtime friends, donors, and aides, Costa found many said the former president is listening to few people and is being mean-spirited about his rivals.
Several people close to the former president said they are tired of his ranting and are avoiding him as he remains holed up in Mar-a-Lago ahead of his daughter Tiffany Trump's wedding on Sunday.
In the last few days, Trump has lashed out at his main GOP political rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom he has nicknamed Ron DeSanctimonious, and Virginia. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whose name he bizarrely said, "sounds Chinese."
In both instances, Trump took credit for their rise to power through his endorsements.
"I have never seen him more irresponsible and chaotic than he is today," a Trump advisor told Costa, the chief election-and-campaign correspondent at CBS.
"He seems to be in self-destruct mode. It is irresponsible to attack DeSantis and Youngkin, and it's irresponsible to announce at any time in the near future."
Trump has promised to make "a very big announcement" on November 15 at Mar-a-Lago, which is widely accepted to be about his plans to run for office in 2024.
The Trump adviser told Costa it was especially irresponsible for the former president to announce the Georgia runoff in December between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker, which could decide control of the Senate.
After the expected Republican "red wave" failed to materialize during the midterms, Trump has received rare criticism from within his party.
Many of Trump's chosen candidates in competitive races failed to win, and numerous election-denying candidates lost gubernatorial, attorney-general, and secretary-of-state races in battleground states.