All posts tagged "maga"

GOP turnout crash looms after MAGA pick left in ‘pool of his own urine’: ex-GOP pollster

An ex-GOP pollster says one MAGA Senate candidate's disastrous debate night previews a much bigger problem for the GOP in November.

Sarah Longwell, the anti-Trump Republican strategist who publishes The Bulwark, said Friday on "The Secret Podcast" that Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) was left "sputtering in a pool of his own urine" during Thursday's Georgia Senate debate, and she warned the performance reflects a slate of GOP candidates that could keep Republican voters home.

"Now, I had not seen a lot of Mike Collins," Longwell told co-host Jonathan V. Last. "But he was left sputtering in a pool of his own urine as Jon Ossoff scared the living daylights out of him with his level of competency."

Last compared the matchup to a boxing mismatch, calling Collins "a tomato can."

"This is like watching Mike Tyson in his prime beat up some guy they picked up at a gym around the corner in Atlantic City," he said.

Longwell argued the bigger damage comes after the debate ends. Even voters who skipped it, she said, will see the coverage.

"The headlines from Georgia will be Jon Ossoff wiped the floor with Mike Collins. Like, it wasn't even a fair fight. And the voters know it," she said. "This is when I talk about depressed voters lead to depressed turnout."

She said the problem differs from 2022, when Republicans nominated what she called "ostentatiously bad" candidates such as Kari Lake and Herschel Walker.

"This time around, the candidate quality is bad in sort of a different way, which is that they are all just sort of Trump rubber stampers and they have no charisma," Longwell said. "They're not smart. They're not interesting candidates. And so they are sort of getting blown up just out of pure mediocrity."

Longwell also pointed to a new Pew Research Center poll putting President Donald Trump's approval at 30 percent and his disapproval at 68 percent, and to a Cook Political Report update that moved 18 House races toward Democrats.

She said pollsters typically watch for Republicans to "come home" in the final month of a campaign, but that "is currently not how it looks to be shaping up."

"The polls continue to either hold steady for Democrats or even get a little bit better," she said.

'Horrific' attack on congressional candidate sends shockwaves: 'There are no words'

A Democratic congressional candidate's harrowing account of an attack on the campaign trail drew horrified reactions online from journalists and politicians.

Bernadette Greene-Placentia, who is challenging Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh in Arizona's 8th Congressional District, told the Phoenix New Times in a story published Wednesday that she was struck over the head and raped while repairing campaign signs in August.

Greene-Placentia, a longtime long-haul trucker, said she was attacked shortly after 2 a.m. as she crossed a parking lot to fix a damaged sign, something she had done regularly all summer. She said she blacked out and woke up to find a man on top of her. A second man then approached, she said, and walked away after she kicked at him. She told the New Times she remembers only fragments of the attack and its aftermath.

She reported the assault to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office more than two weeks later, according to the New Times. A sheriff’s office spokesperson declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

"I felt a gut punch reading this article," wrote former Iowa congresswoman Abby Finkenauer in a post on X. "This is horrific and Bernadette is a warrior for speaking out. I hope someone who knows something comes forward and these monsters are caught. Bernadette deserves justice & every candidate deserves safety."

"Beyond horrific," reacted author and activist Charlotte Clymer. "No words."

"There are no words," echoed journalist Olivia Messer.

"This is horrifying," said The Bulwark immigration reporter Adrian Carrasquillo.

"How indescribably horrific," blasted British member of parliament Adam Jogee. "I hope which ever sick b— did this lose their liberty and freedom for the rest of their lives. The authorities should lock them up and throw the key away."

"This horrific violence is shocking, appalling, and completely unacceptable," decried Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. "My heart breaks for Bernadette and I stand with her."

"This is horrifying and every woman's worst nightmare," Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) weighed in. "Women should be safe whether they're at school, at work, or in their neighborhood. We have a lot of work to do as a country to end rape culture, protect victims, and hold perpetrators accountable."

Outrage after 'MAGA thug' assaults Trump protester at Texas rally: 'Bunch of snowflakes'

Critics erupted online Wednesday after an older MAGA rallygoer yanked a protester's hair during President Donald Trump's San Antonio rally.

Trump came to San Antonio to campaign for U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton and Carlos De La Cruz, who's running to represent Texas' 35th Congressional District. He was speaking at Freeman Coliseum when multiple protesters heckled him and drew a sharp reaction from the crowd.

After interrupting Trump's speech, one of the protesters appeared to head for the exit, but an older Trump supporter in a red MAGA hat ran up behind him, grabbed him, and started pulling at his hair, shocking even the people around him. The scene was captured by C-SPAN's coverage of the event and circulated online.

"Wow Trump gets heckled in Texas and the protester gets assaulted by a member of the crowd," MeidasTouch digital editor Acyn Torabi reacted in a post on X, sharing the clip.

"Bunch of snowflakes," blasted journalist Zaid Jilani, turning a common MAGA slur for liberals back at them. "Heckling is as American as apple pie."

"As expected, Trump doesn't even offer lip service to the principle of free speech," lamented author and activist Hemant Mehta. "He doesn't ask if the person is okay after being attacked by a MAGA thug."

PatriotTakes, an account that monitors right-wing violence and extremism, shared the video with the label, "MAGA violence."

"MAGA people are banshees and savages," slammed Army veteran and media personality Bruce Crossing.

"The guy who grabbed him committed assault," decried disability advocate James Tate. "Laws do exist at MAGA rally's, right?"

"For what it's worth, the vast majority of the MAGA folks in the vicinity of the assault immediately realize that's a big no no," offered political strategist Doug Landry.

According to a post by Texas journalist Adam Schwager, another group of protesters was kicked out of the event, and "as they were handcuffed and escorted out one woman threw a full cup of water on one of the men." Schwager reported that four protesters were removed from Trump's rally in San Antonio.

Trump merch store owner says sales cratering as 'very few people still support' him: CNN

A Virginia shop that became a MAGA merchandise destination has watched its sales collapse as MAGA customers sour on the president.

CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" aired the report on Tuesday, flagging "troubling signs for President Trump on the campaign trail." In the report, correspondent Elle Reeve returned to Whitey Taylor's Trump Town USA in Boones Mill, Virginia.

Taylor told Reeve that at its peak, the store pulled in "a lot of $12,000, say, maybe a $15,000 a day" on occasion. Now, he said, it's "1,500, 2,000 bucks, sometimes hit 3,000."

"It's a really big falloff," Reeve said.

"Well, it is, it is," Taylor replied.

Taylor rejected the idea that sales are down because Trump supporters are angry with the president, insisting business will rebound once Trump leaves office.

"They'll come here by the droves and say, 'What have you got, man? I know you're still there,'" he said. "So we'll be here waiting on them."

His customers painted a different picture.

"I've seen a lot of Trump supporters just say heck with him, put his sticker upside down and not flying his flag, or put a red zero on it," Trump Town USA customer Stevie Lovell said. "Very few people still support Trump."

Lovell told Reeve he still backs Trump and plans to vote a straight Republican ticket in the midterms, but he had plenty of criticism. Asked about ICE raids and arrests, Lovell warned, "If you give people absolute power, they abuse it."

He also said a report showing Trump has made more money in office than any other president bothered him.

"Profit isn't a dirty word, but it kind of does bother me a little bit that he's in office, and he's gaining a lot," Lovell said.

Trump Town USA shopper Jamie Varela, who has two teenagers, said the family's grocery bill runs between $800 and $1,000 a month.

"When you're going to the store and you're paying five bucks for a pineapple, then you got to choose fruit or gas," Varela said. Asked whether Trump bears any responsibility for high prices, Varela answered, "Yes. Because of the war."

Reeve noted that a September CNN poll found two-thirds of Americans say Trump has made the economy worse, with his approval rating at its lowest ever.

Taylor, for his part, says Trump has made him millions and has no plans to shut down.

"People ask me all the time, say, 'Oh, so when are you going to close?' You know, I said 2040," he said. "Because it's all the Trump kids' time to run through the office first."

MAGA voters abandoning Trump-endorsed candidate who is too 'establishment': GOP pollster

Trump voters in Iowa are souring on GOP Senate nominee Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), seeing her as both too MAGA and too establishment.

The Bulwark's Sarah Longwell laid out the finding in a Tuesday article after holding focus groups last week with Iowans who voted for President Donald Trump in 2024 but now disapprove of him. Longwell argued the reaction points to a deeper brand problem for Republicans in a state Trump never came within 8 points of losing.

The Senate race there has tightened. Of the 10 polls taken since September 1 and tracked in The New York Times' aggregator, Democrat Josh Turek led in four, Hinson led in five and one was tied.

Participants repeatedly described Hinson as a career climber and a MAGA loyalist at the same time, a combination Longwell found "almost comical," she wrote.

"I think to me she kind of falls in the camp of like a party politician," a Trump voter named Celeste said, adding that Hinson seems to benefit because she appears to "toe the line" of the Republican Party. "You get on board, you say the right things, we eventually bump you up, and you get more and more power as a politician, and then eventually you retire very rich."

A Trump voter named Joel put it more bluntly. "She definitely gives, like, MAGA vibes, and for some people that's a plus. For me it is not," he said, adding that Hinson "comes across as almost too polished."

The group also watched "Aisle," a Hinson ad touting her bipartisan record, including work with Trump to take on health insurers. Participants liked the message but doubted the messenger. Joel rated the ad a nine for appeal and a three for believability, and said the Trump mention "gives me another reason to wonder."

Celeste suspected the Trump reference "was chosen very intentionally, probably for signaling support for more of a MAGA agenda, which I wouldn't want to support."

Longwell wrote that "if Republicans can't mention Trump in an ad... that's a brand problem," arguing that Hinson is one of many Republicans with little credibility claiming independence from Trump.

"For years, Republicans have chosen to bind their fate to Trump's," she wrote. "Now, as he becomes a political albatross, it's too late to separate from him."

MAGA celebrity exposes 'nail in the coffin' for GOP that Trump loyalists keep ignoring

A celebrity trainer turned MAGA podcaster has a blunt midterm warning for Republicans counting on President Donald Trump's base to save them.

Former "Biggest Loser" trainer Jillian Michaels made the case on her podcast "Keeping It Real," after watching coverage suggesting that strong MAGA loyalty to Trump could hold off a Democratic "blue wave" in November, according to reporting by The Daily Beast.

Michaels argued the math doesn't work in the GOP's favor.

"They talk about how MAGA is still very loyal to Trump, but MAGA is not a big percentage, not a big percentage, of the total voting pool, because it's not the entire Republican Party," she said.

To back up her point, Michaels pointed to Pew Research data showing 28 percent of voters call themselves Republicans, compared to 29 percent who identify as Democrats and 44 percent who consider themselves independent or something else. Among those independents, Democrats hold a slight edge, with 47 percent leaning their way versus 43 percent leaning Republican.

She also referenced a University of Massachusetts Amherst survey that found 32 percent of Republican voters don't identify with the MAGA movement at all.

Michaels said that what she hears on the road lines up with the numbers.

"I gotta be honest, in talking with people, I travel a lot across the country, people come up to me in airports, in restaurants, Uber drivers, and they talk to me," she said. "I meet a lot of people who are Republicans that are not happy right now."

She also played a clip of rapper Nicki Minaj appearing on Lara Trump's Fox News show "My View," urging Republicans to show up at the polls.

"The point is simply don't get confident," Michaels said. "MAGA is not the majority."

The real danger, she argued, isn't that disaffected Republicans and right-leaning independents will cross over to vote for Democrats. It's that they'll stay home.

"They may not vote Democrat, but they may not vote at all, and that's it," Michaels said. "That's the nail in the coffin if that is the case."

Furious MAGA fans rebel against Trump over his new 'bribe': 'Won't even fill my tank'

President Donald Trump's promise of about $100 checks for certain seniors drew backlash from some of his own supporters on Truth Social, where several called the amount insulting.

On Friday night, Trump announced that his administration would "immediately" start sending "Checks" of "nearly $100" to more than 20 million seniors to help cover Medicare Part B premiums. He also repeated his promise of a "$5,000 Trump Dividend" for every citizen "if, and when, the Republicans win the Midterm Elections!"

Many replies came from his own supporters, and they weren't happy.

"$100 won't even fill up my tank dumba--," wrote @madammespeaker. In April, the same account urged Trump to nominate Jeanine Pirro as attorney general.

@AaronLoo, a self-described machinist from northwest New Jersey who has reposted claims that Joe Biden stole the 2020 election, called it "a f---ing joke."

"Promises=Lies," he added.

@Abbybaby1, an account run by a Scottish expat in Nashville who once reposted a call to put Trump "back in office now," didn't buy it either.

"This is a joke right? Our Medicare is going up! And $100 really??" she wrote.

@Billofgoods, an account that regularly reposts Trump, called the checks "delivery of literally nothing" and said Medicare costs had risen 50%. In a separate post, the user wrote, "I am a pissed off Trump voter."

@EarthCallingGod, whose bio includes "#IStandWithTrump," wrote, "President Trump, I love you dearly but I had to quit my job to take care of my mom and a $100 won't do s---." The user added: "Im still solid MAGA."

@Jenetics, who recently praised a Trump post as "Absolute Truth!", wrote "Nice gesture sir," then listed thousands of dollars in medical bills. "$100 IS NOTHING," the user added.

@FreeSpeechJef, a self-described retired military veteran who has reposted Kayleigh McEnany, suggested the payout was about the midterms. "Freebies will buy votes ... ask the Democrats," he wrote.

Another user, @Calicool22, used blunter language for the dividend.

"This is nothing more than a political bribe," the user wrote. "If the money is there, why not give it to Americans now instead of making promises you can't afford to keep?"

Ex-Trump official blames cracking MAGA coalition as top aides flee 'Armageddon': report

A former Trump official said fractures in the president's coalition are fueling a wave of senior departures from the White House.

The official was among roughly six current and former administration aides who spoke with the Daily Mail for a report published Thursday about the steady stream of exits from Trump's second-term White House.

"The original coalition fell apart; there's cracks in the MAHA movement and the anti-war MAGA base," the former official told the Daily Mail. "A lot of people don't like the direction this administration is headed between the Iran war and increasing prices."

The departures span the top ranks of the Trump administration. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, White House counsel David Warrington, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and deputy chief of staff James Blair have all left in recent months, with Leavitt and Blair landing at MAGA Inc., the president's political operation.

Others who resigned in August include Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, legislative affairs director James Braid and Andy Baker, a deputy national security adviser who also advised Vice President JD Vance.

According to a Brookings Institution analysis cited by the Daily Mail, turnover among Trump's senior Executive Office staff stood at 56 percent as of September 30. That outpaces the 40 percent the think tank recorded across Biden's first two years, though it falls short of the 66 percent Trump saw at the same point in his first term.

"Objectively, there have been a lot of senior departures," another former White House official told the Daily Mail.

A staffer from Biden's White House said exits typically accelerate after midterms, not before. "But this level of turnover before the midterms is rare," the former staffer said.

Aides also blamed exhaustion. "I had no life when I was working at the White House, which is fine. That's what you sign up for. You can't do it forever," one former official said.

Others described a scramble to secure Republican jobs before November, with prediction market Kalshi putting Democrats' odds of flipping the House at roughly 91 percent, the Daily Mail noted.

"Once November 3 hits, it's Armageddon, and everyone's out," one said.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the outlet the president "has built the greatest political movement in history," and that "this movement is bigger than any one staff member."

Trump 'diehards' flash warning sign that stuns top pollster: 'Never seen this happen'

Some of President Donald Trump's most loyal supporters are no longer rushing to his defense, according to a veteran Democratic pollster who said he watched it happen in real time.

Cornell Belcher, who polled for Barack Obama's campaigns and for the Democratic National Committee under Howard Dean, described the scene on the Lincoln Project's "The Elephant in the Room" polling show. He said he recently conducted focus groups out West that included Trump supporters, and that when criticism of the president came up, they didn't push back the way they always had before.

"This is something that I've been doing for several years, and I've never seen this happen before," Belcher said.

In past sessions, he said, Trump's "die-hard" backers would find a way to defend him no matter how ridiculous the action in question. This time, they went quiet.

"You could see the Trump supporters in the room start staring off into the distance, and not rallying around him, or looking down, looking away," he said. "They are not engaging."

Belcher said he hasn't seen a collapse like Trump's, with the possible exception of 2006, and that this one is different. George W. Bush remained personally likable to many voters even as his job approval sank, he said, while the intensity of voters' dislike for Trump is as high as he has ever seen for a president.

The discussion comes as Trump's approval has sunk to record lows, with even the first lady offering only a lukewarm assessment of his second term this week. A CNN analysis found that Republicans devoted less than 1% of their TV ad spending in early September to spots mentioning Trump.

Belcher predicted that the midterm electorate will be younger, more diverse and more Democratic than usual, saying his polling shows Democrats with an enthusiasm edge of more than 10 points.

Some prominent Trump allies have already broken away. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has floated launching a third party aimed at disaffected Republicans.

MAGA lawmaker hit with 'terrifying' polling pile on after new gas price reversal

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) wants Congress back in Washington, but experts and critics pointed out that it's a curious ask from a lawmaker whose own party leadership shipped everyone home until after the midterms.

The Iowa Senate candidate, already reeling from backlash over her Iran war flip-flop, posted Tuesday that "The House should return to DC immediately to work to pause diesel exports, suspend the gas tax, fully unleash E15 and biodiesel, and work on a diesel relief program for truckers and farmers. Americans need relief and I'll work with anyone to deliver." She was responding to an Axios report that Trump now backs a ban on diesel exports.

It's the latest reversal from the representative, and political insiders suspect internal polling is the cause. Hinson spent months privately calling the war a "political liability" while publicly shrugging it off as "out of sight, out of mind," then pivoted to demanding it end after she'd voted six times to let it continue. Now she's demanding Washington reconvene, days after Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters "the House has done its work" and sent members home to campaign — with Hinson's blessing at the time.

Critics wasted no time. The Lincoln Project needled her twice, first asking "Those internal polls must look crazy, huh?" then reminding her "You voted for this. SIX times. Iowa, vote her out." Anti-Trump GOP strategist Sarah Longwell agreed that the "internals must look scary."

Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu had a simpler suggestion: "Um, have you tried calling your GOP Speaker?" Radio veteran Jamie Dupree made the same point, noting GOP lawmakers "were sent home until after the elections by their own leaders" and now want back in to handle "affordability issues that Republicans avoided in 2026."

Journalist Adam Carlson zeroed in on the timing, asking whether Hinson "just discover[ed]" record diesel prices or "just started caring" after "terrifying internal polling over the weekend." AIPAC Tracker piled on with the reminder that Hinson has voted against ending the Iran war four times this year. GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan and Vox's Matthew Yglesias mocked the substance itself, with Yglesias simply writing: "lmao 'fully unleash E15 and biodiesel.'"

Former prosecutor Ron Filipkowski put it most bluntly, calling the statement "performative nonsense to distract from the damage her own votes did to her constituents thanks to the cult leader she obeys."