MAGA 'dam break' coming after candidate with 'morals of a lizard' rejected: strategist

President Donald Trump is now facing such a severe collapse of his political brand that even hardcore MAGA politicians are looking for a way to distance themselves from him, Democratic strategist Lis Smith told MS NOW's Nicolle Wallace.

This is most clearly exemplified by the new reporting that Ken Paxton, the far-right Texas attorney general now running for Senate, privately complained that the MAGA convention in Dallas hurt his election prospects.

"Trump right now is toxic, personally, more than he's ever been," said Wallace, citing the Iran war, the deterioration of the economy, and his controversial vanity projects like the White House ballroom. "Everything he points to, and talks about, is either politically toxic or represents a grift and a theft from the taxpayer."

Smith concurred.

"It's a real wake-up call when Ken Paxton, of all people, is calling you too toxic," said Smith. "This is a guy who has been described as having the morals of a lizard. He was impeached by the Republican House for bribery and abuse of power. He was reported to the FBI by his senior staff."

Paxton, however, is by no means an outlier, continued Smith. "We're seeing Republicansall across the country start to distance themselves ... in Michigan, in Iowa, there are Senate candidates right now who are running ads saying we need to end the war immediately. And what it says to me is ... there's a moment in every cycle when the dam breaks and when you start to see the candidates act less out of toeing the party line and more out of self-preservation."

"That's what it feels like we're seeing right now: Republicans acting like rats jumping off a sinking ship," she added. "And we'll probably see more of this going into November."

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