President Donald Trump has reportedly told associates and at least one foreign leader that he isn't worried about the political cost of his decisions ahead of November's midterms.
The 80-year-old president's comments confirm what many Republicans have feared for months — that Trump is willing to let the party absorb the fallout from his choices, regardless of the consequences, reported the Wall Street Journal.
"Seventeen months into his second term, Trump is increasingly relying on his own gut instincts, dismissing the counsel of aides, conservative lawmakers and longtime associates," the newspaper reported. "The result has been a series of decisions that have confounded and frustrated Republicans — heightening fears that voters will punish the GOP in the November elections and testing Trump’s iron grip on the party."
According to people familiar with the conversations, Trump privately told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he didn't care about the midterms, a remark meant to signal his commitment to the Iran campaign no matter the political cost.
He's made similar comments publicly. Asked last month how much Americans' financial strain factored into his push to end the war, Trump said, "Not even a little bit," adding, "I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing — we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon."
The comments have rattled Republicans already anxious about holding Congress in November. Trump has also downplayed the political damage from inflation, saying at one point, "I love the inflation," and has increasingly brushed off allies offering strategic advice with a blunt response: "I'm the president and you're not."
That posture has frustrated lawmakers who say Trump's recent decisions — including a preliminary Iran deal that drew sharp criticism from Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), and a standoff over FISA reauthorization tied to an unrelated voter-ID bill — are complicating the GOP's path to keeping its majority. Cassidy called the Iran agreement "the worst foreign policy blunder in decades."
Former GOP leadership spokesman Ron Bonjean said Trump's dismissiveness toward midterm concerns has already strained his relationship with congressional Republicans: "The total control that Trump once had over Congress just isn't there anymore."
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales defended the president's record, saying "no President has worked harder or delivered more than President Trump," and pointed to his work on immigration, the economy and national security as evidence.
