Republicans are "tearing their hair out" as President Donald Trump stomps on the midterm messaging, a New York Times journalist said.
During an appearance on CNN, Lulu Garcia-Navarro spoke about the GOP's frustrations as Trump blames them for voters' anger ahead of the midterm while praising himself.
"They are tearing their hair out. They are absolutely apoplectic," Garcia-Navarro said. "They have tried to get President Trump on message."
During an interview with Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman, Trump said that voters are "not angry at me," but "they are angry at Republicans." On CNN, former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson noted that Trump wouldn't admit to being down in the polls or unpopular with voters, and "he's going to blame it on Republicans," adding, "Rest assured, if the midterms are bad for Republicans, he will say it was because he was not on the ballot."
Garcia-Navarro agreed, adding that Republicans have "tried to get President Trump on message" ahead of the midterms. "He has completely stepped on that message over and over again," Garcia-Navarro said.
"He's also made it impossible for them to separate from him because they actually do need his base to show up for them," she said. "But then they can't actually go out and try and attract new voters because he's like a lodestone around their necks."
Republicans' dependence on a president they can't get on message puts them "in an impossible situation," Garcia-Navarro said. "As you look at the midterms, it's really hard for Republicans."
Garcia-Navarro said "the only saving grace" for Republicans is attacking faults in the Democratic Party platform and a boost from redistricting.
"Ultimately, it's going to have to be not just a blue wave, but a blue tidal wave in order to sort of get past some of these structural things," Garcia-Navarro said.