U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on board Air Force One while flying from Joint Base Andrews to Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S., June 5, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
President Donald Trump may have sunk his standing with Republicans heading into the midterm season after he bullied Kristen Welker of NBC News on Sunday morning, according to one analyst.
Welker interviewed Trump in Wisconsin for "Meet the Press," where the two discussed the ongoing war in Iran, the Trump administration's $1.776 billion so-called "anti-weaponization fund," and the upcoming 2026 midterm election. During the interview, Trump became combative when Welker challenged his assertions about who could receive payments from the weaponization fund. The president became so angry that he abruptly ended the interview and stormed off set.
Saniqua McClendon, president of Vote Save America, told MS NOW's Alex Witt on Sunday that Trump may have pushed more Republicans away with the outburst.
"Donald Trump's a bully. He's been that before, throughout his 2016 campaign, before he got into the White House," she said. "Right now, he's used tomanipulating the media to getwhat he wants. And typically,he spends a lot oftime with right-wing media whojust kind of praisehim all day. That's most ofwhat's in the White House press briefing room. He enjoys that when he can dothese press conferences."
"So, if someone challenges him withthe truth, he gets upset," she continued. "He'snot used to being heldaccountable. But I think as we get toward the midterms and he gets into a lame-duck position, there are a lot fewer Republicans who are kind of coming around him. And so he'sjust out there by himself beinga bully. And I do think it willstart to have an impact,because a lot of theseRepublicans are going to be asked about his behavior ahead of the midterms. And then aswe go into the primaries nextyear."
Trump's outburst happened at a time when Republicans seem open to going against Trump for the first time in nearly a decade. Last week, the House of Representatives voted to curb Trump's war powers in Iran. Republicans also joined Democrats to approve additional aid to Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression, a measure that Trump publicly opposed.