White House insiders worry midterms could be 'end of the presidency': CNN reporter

If the 2025 off-year elections are any indication, analysts think they could foreshadow another bad election for Republicans in the 2026 midterms.

Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, former Barack Obama strategist David Axelrod and Donald Trump ally Scott Jennings debated the true meaning of the Democratic victories around the country.

"You can't jawbone people into feeling what they're not experiencing," Axelrod said about Trump's months-long effort to claim the economy was dramatically better under him.

"You know what you saw yesterday in really, really significant numbers all over the country where people [were] voting because they were really worried about the direction of the country and the direction of the economy," he added.

But it was host Kaitlan Collins who questioned if this is an indication that a 2026 Democratic sweep could turn Trump into a "lame duck."

"Just make everyone clear on how much they're worried about Democrats taking back the House in the midterms or what that could look like, one White House staffer told me once that it's the end of the presidency, if that happens," Collins said.

She added that it's simply a matter of how high the stakes are for those in the White House who think Democrats will be a check on Trump's power. They remember very well what it was like in Trump's first term, and they lost power to the Democrats.

Jennings said the White House should stop Trump from traveling so much overseas and instead focus on economic issues.

"So, I would be looking for ways to keep him at home and keep him visible in those settings, and also just get him talking about what people are feeling and what he's doing about it," Jennings suggested.