All posts tagged "midterms"

'We have no choice': Frightened GOP surrenders to Trump's risky midterms campaign

Republicans are quietly giving up on keeping President Donald Trump at bay because they're too scared to tell him he's unpopular, according to a new report.

GOP operatives have caved on Trump's plan to put himself front and center ahead of the midterms despite his sinking approval ratings, according to a Saturday report by Axios.

"Most Republicans are too scared to bluntly tell Trump how unpopular he is," Axios wrote. "And Trump wants an unprecedented convention next week, ads and events to focus on him."

Trump's convention in Dallas next week comes after he announced plans for a campaign blitz during the last month before the midterms. He said on Friday that his MAGA Inc. Super PAC, which hasn't funded many GOP candidates in competitive midterm races so far, will begin spending.

However, Axios reported that even Trump's own voters are starting to sour on him and that his approval rating among Republicans is at a second-term low of 79 percent. Despite that, Republicans are giving in to Trump's self-centered campaign strategy because they believe opposing it could cost them credibility and seats in the House and Senate.

"We have no choice," a top Republican campaign official told Axios. "We're stuck on the boat with him whether we like it or not."

According to Axios, Republicans know it's inevitable that Trump will attach himself to their campaigns as he seems to believe things are going great.

"Now, a rising tide raises all boats," the Republican campaign official who spoke to Axios added. "But the only ones who sound sure about the tide rising is the White House."

Trump plans to speak both nights at his upcoming midterms convention, which is already expected to suffer from low ratings. He's also the star of the first two TV ads put out by his political operation, which are titled "Toughest Guy" and "Tax Cut Prices," according to Axios.

Blundering Trump smacked with swift reminder as Oval Office gaffe called out as illegal

Critics of President Donald Trump tried to sarcastically do him a favor as they warned his recent gaffe suggested illegal activity.

On Friday, Trump answered reporters' questions from the Oval Office, and when asked about the MAGA Inc. Super PAC, which hasn't been sharing funds with GOP contenders ahead of the midterms, he said it's "my money," even though it's not legally his money.

"This money from MAGA Inc. This is my money that I control," Trump said. "We have around $1 billion that I can spend."

"It's illegal to coordinate with Super PACs," pointed out former Democratic congressional candidate and healthcare advocate Melanie D'Arrigo. "And Trump gutted the agency that polices and investigates that."

"It's illegal for Trump to use his super PAC money and political nonprofit money for unauthorized purposes," explained Axios White House reporter Marc Caputo. "But the president could theoretically do that anyway -- take the money, as much as $800 million (he says about a billion) -- and then self-pardon."

Progressive political analyst Molly Jong-Fast simply reacted with a long "Hahahaha."

"That sound you hear is John Thune crying into a [g]lass of bourbon," joked Eric Michael Garcia, Washington, D.C., bureau chief for The Independent, referring to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

"Trump could illegally pocket the hundreds of millions in this Super PAC, and Republicans in Congress will pretend like it's not happening while Susan Collins writes a strongly worded letter telling Trump to cut it out," lamented columnist Ben Palmer.

When asked how he's going to use the money in his Super PAC, Trump said, "I'm going to spend whatever amount of money necessary to try and help us," and "I think we have a chance at doing well in the midterms."

He said that he plans to spend about half a billion dollars as he goes on a campaign tour to boost GOP candidates in competitive races.

Karl Rove warns Trump's midterm rally blitz will backfire on GOP candidates

Veteran Republican strategist Karl Rove warned that President Donald Trump's plan to headline the midterms himself will backfire on the GOP.

In a Wednesday op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Rove laid out the case. Trump announced during a Rose Garden Dinner on Wednesday that he plans to spend thirty days leading up to the midterms rallying for candidates narrowly behind or ahead or tied in the polls.

Trump's pitch is to lean into his own record, Rove noted, based on reporting by The Atlantic and Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy. Trump will build ads from his on-camera statements and barnstorm toss-up districts himself, Rove predicted. Trump's reasoning is that since Democrats will make November a referendum on him regardless, he might as well own it, Rove wrote.

Rove's objection is a numbers problem. Trump is at 39.6 percent approval against 56.9 percent disapproval in the RealClearPolitics average. Rove argued that when a president is that unpopular, "making the election even more about you only helps the opposition."

Midterms are almost always a choice between more of the same and change, and "plastering his face on every screen in every toss-up race will make the midterms even more about him and tie those candidates to an intensely unpopular status quo," Rove argued.

A rally a day compounds the risk because an unscripted Trump would "dominate the news," Rove warned.

"Republican candidates will constantly have to fend off questions about whether they agree with his latest insult or half-baked idea," Rove wrote. "The narrative won't be on anything positive about them or the GOP."

Rove asked, "Given all this, why is Team Trump talking about giving Democrats what they want?" They'd be making him the face of the GOP campaign ahead of the midterms, Rove warned.

"The answer: narcissism," Rove wrote. "Mr. Trump believes that in 2024 'the beauty' was 'that we won by so much.' He thinks 'the mandate was massive,' the biggest in '129 years in terms of the overall mandate.' Not so much...that support has rapidly eroded."

Trump aides quietly prepping untested tactics as Dem clash nears 'uncharted territory'

President Donald Trump's aides are quietly preparing untested legal tactics to blunt a wave of Democratic investigations they expect after the midterms.

According to an article by Politico, new preparations have started since Will Scharf took over as the White House counsel on Tuesday. An August 10 Justice Department memo has also laid the groundwork for a broader use of executive privilege.

The White House counsel's office began briefing political appointees privately as far back as this spring, according to Politico. The office urged appointees to keep financial disclosures and ethics filings airtight and to think twice before committing anything to writing.

Lawyers reassured current staff that the Trump administration would represent them in their official capacities if subpoenas do arrive, even though appointees who have already left the government may not get the same cover, Politico noted.

Current and former aides are now hunting for personal attorneys ahead of possible 2027 testimony, according to Politico. Among the names circulating is Stefan Passantino, who defended Cassidy Hutchinson during the January 6 inquiries and advised the Trump Organization on earlier congressional demands, Politico noted.

The guidance from the counsel's office was blunt, with one former official saying, "Don't give them a reason to find anything," according to Politico.

The Trump administration has laid down what Politico called an "untested" legal marker. The DOJ Office of Legal Counsel argued in its August 10 memo that executive privilege can shield Trump's conversations with private, outside advisers, not just government employees. An anonymous White House official told Politico, "This is not an extension of executive privilege."

It stops short of blanket immunity, however, and concedes that Congress can demand information that is "demonstrably critical," Politico noted. That could leave company executives in what Politico called "uncharted territory" between the White House and a Democratic-controlled Congress.

“For instance, if a CEO had a phone conversation with Trump, or if you went into the White House to present information to drive a decision-making process, the White House could take the position that those documents are subject to executive privilege,” Alyssa DaCunha, co-chair of WilmerHale’s Strategic Response and Congressional Investigations practices, told Politico. “That could put companies in a difficult position of trying to abide by the White House’s determinations of privilege protections while also telling their story to Congress.”

Republicans are quiet-quitting Trump's big party with suspiciously timed conflicts: report

GOP candidates in competitive House races told a columnist they don't know whether they'll appear at President Donald Trump's midterm convention because of scheduling conflicts.

In a Tuesday column, political commentator Joe Perticone noted a "conveniently timed epidemic of GOP scheduling conflicts" ahead of next week's midterm convention, which Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters has dubbed "Trumpapalooza."

"I've come up with an easy way to determine how concerned House Republicans are about Trump dragging them down in this fall's midterm elections," Perticone wrote. "All you need to do is ask them whether they plan to be seen with him next week."

Perticone spoke with eight different incumbent Republicans running in some of the closest races in the midterms, and none of them confirmed that they planned to attend the event.

Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) told Perticone that he has an important debate scheduled against his Democratic opponent during the second night of the convention.

"We're trying to work it all out at this point, but it's conflicting with my--at least right now--only televised debate that we do in Arizona," Ciscomani told Perticone. "So we're gonna have to prioritize the debate if it comes to that."

Rep. French Hill (R-AR) told Perticone that he has "work stuff" that will keep him from Trumpapalooza, even though Congress is out of session.

"I have a place I have to be that day and can't be there," Hill told Perticone. Hill does have "some (very) limited private-sector duties," Perticone noted.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) said she would rather be back home than in Texas to attend Trump's convention, which will be in Dallas. She told Perticone she won't be attending "because I have a district that I have to be in and take care of, so I'll be in my district."

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) told Perticone that she's undecided and has to find someone to watch her kids for the week if she does go. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) told Perticone, "I'm not sure" about attending. "I haven't made any plans as of right now."

Similarly, Rep. John McGuire (R-VA), Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) and Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) have said they're not sure or are prioritizing their races.

"Trump's cratering approval ratings appear to have spooked vulnerable House Republicans into staying far from the grand celebration of all things Trump," Perticone wrote.

Trump megadonors in panic mode as GOP stares down midterm disaster: WSJ

Corporate titans who showered President Donald Trump with cash are quietly bracing for payback should Democrats seize the House after the midterms.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, a cluster of major companies, many of them tech firms, that poured millions into Trump's pet projects and political operations has begun preparing for a possible wave of congressional probes. Some are standing up internal task forces to rehearse their answers to subpoenas and information demands, while others are cutting fresh checks to Democrats and staffing up with the party's former operatives, anonymous insiders told The Journal.

Meta recently steered $5 million apiece to two nonprofits tied to House and Senate Democratic leadership, according to The Journal. Paramount, the media network that controls CBS and streamed Trump's White House UFC fight, has brought on a former legislative director to President Joe Biden. The prediction-market firm Kalshi has hired ex-aides to Barack Obama and Biden. OpenAI chief Sam Altman spent the summer hosting Washington dinners for Democratic lawmakers.

"Get right with God," Democratic strategist and Silicon Valley donor adviser Cooper Teboe told The Journal, summing up his advice to companies that have been cozying up to Trump and ignoring Democrats.

"You're going to be totally f— next year, or you're going to figure it out this year," Teboe said. "And you're going to make amends—and amends are going to be much more costly than they were previously."

Executives from Meta and Palantir have discussed the likelihood that they will face requests for information, future congressional hearings, and even subpoenas, insiders told The Journal.

With Trump in the White House for two more years, executives expect his administration to stonewall any Democratic oversight requests. That leaves the businesses themselves as the softest targets, since they have less room to ignore a summons from Capitol Hill, The Journal noted.

GOP strategist reveals Trump's glaring vulnerability ahead of midterms

GOP strategist Marc Short said that President Donald Trump's second-term corruption will make him especially vulnerable in the midterms.

Short, the former chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence, said during a Wednesday appearance on CNN that voters will respond to the increase in corruption during Trump's second term with louder calls to drain the swamp.

"I do think there's a difference in the second term, and I think that one of the rally cries that I heard again in 2016 and 2020, repeatedly, that got the crowd's most animated was a promise to drain the swamp," Short said. "And I do think that in the second administration, the president's administration has made the swamp the family's personal hot tub."

Short suggested that rallying cry could play to Democrats' advantage in the midterms if they say they're doing investigations into alleged corruption by the Trump administration, and the base of the party hears those promises.

"And I think that there's far more corruption that's happened this go-around that makes them far more vulnerable to a lot of the investigations that they should be more concerned about than it seems," Short said.

On top of that, Short said that Trump isn't as invested in the midterms because he believes he's already taken on the investigations by Democrats.

"He can talk about securing the border. He can talk about tax relief. He can talk about the markets being at all-time highs, but honestly, I don't think the president really cares about the midterms," Short said.

Trump was impeached twice, Short also noted, but Trump "looks at it as, 'I've defeated them twice, and they sent the DOJ after me,'" but he's still standing.

"And candidly, he has more fun sparring with [Hakeem] Jeffries and [Chuck] Schumer than he does with [Mike] Johnson and [John] Thune," Short said. "And so a lot of Republicans are counting on President Trump, but he's said himself he's not invested in the midterms."

GOP turmoil looms as Trump chooses his greatest love over Republicans: ex-GOP strategist

Former Republican operative Rick Wilson argued that President Donald Trump doesn't plan to use his 'MAGA money pile' to save Republicans in the midterms.

In his Substack on Tuesday, Wilson revealed that Trump's deepest affection is for one thing and one thing only: cash.

"Donald Trump likes money," Wilson wrote. "He likes it more than he likes anything else in this world, including his children. That love of cash has manifested itself this year in an epic tidal wave of political corruption."

And with MAGA Inc. holding onto $400 million just as midterms draw nearer and the Republican Party has about $160 million, it's unlikely Trump will use any of the MAGA donations to help secure a Republican majority in the House or Senate, Wilson explained.

"Yes, he’s raked in billions from crypto scams, from selling pardons to criminals, from side deals to enrich himself, his family, and a host of other scummy and entirely predictable actors," Wilson wrote. "Why not collect more from the suckers funding MAGA Inc?"

"We’re missing something about the MAGA Inc. money," Wilson wrote. "Trump believes it’s his. In his mind, it wasn’t raised for the party. It wasn’t raised for candidates. It wasn’t raised to ensure an electoral victory this fall. He thinks it was raised for him, literally and personally for him. Sure, that’s an ugly and stupid category error, but why would you expect anything different at this point?"

Wilson also dropped a blunt note.

"Trump also has one thing going for him that no other Republican candidate has ever had. He isn’t really a Republican," Wilson wrote. "Donald Trump is a member of the Trump party, a party dedicated to one man, and a singularly self-obsessed man at that. So put yourself inside that rattled, sloppy brain for a moment. You see a political tidal wave coming for the GOP. You’re sitting on nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars that might not even save them. What do you do?"

"If you’re Donald Trump, I’ll tell you exactly what you do. You spend it on yourself. You transfer it into your own pockets," Wilson added. "Trump doesn’t care whether Republicans win or lose, except insofar as losing might be a slight inconvenience in terms of investigations."

Primary in Trump's backyard has become a 'clown show of carpetbaggers': CNN

President Donald Trump was facing a new round of tests amid a low approval rating on Tuesday as primary elections heated up, including a red state primary that could shift the political tide ahead of midterms, according to reports.

CNN White House correspondent Alayna Treene described how the president was closely watching multiple races — and what Florida's Republican primary could signal in Trump's "adopted home state." Trump has endorsed MAGA Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) in the governor's race to replace the president's "one-time foe" Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

"He issued that endorsement for Donalds roughly 18 months ago, but what's so interesting about this race is that essentially that endorsement, the president's endorsement, did not do enough to clear the field," Treene said. "And part of that is because Ron DeSantis has essentially come out and made clear he does not want Donalds to be his replacement."

DeSantis has not endorsed any candidates.

The president will be watching the governor's race and also the House primary to see which Republican could replace Byron Donalds in Trump's Florida 19th District, which he won by 30 points in 2024, Treene reported.

"Whoever the Republican nominee who emerges tonight will be will likely be the overwhelming favorite," she explained. "We had a great headline from our colleague Steve Contorno, who was out with a piece on this today. The headline for his story on this race says 'a clown show of carpetbaggers and characters has upended a Republican primary in Trump's backyard.'"

Treene named several of the Florida GOP candidates in the crowded primary race, including Madison Cawthorn.

"You might remember him," Treene said, referring to Cawthorn. "He had a very brief and tumultuous time in Congress, and then he was representing North Carolina. Today, he's running in Florida."

She also noted that former Republican Rep. Chris Collins from New York, who was sentenced to 26 months in jail for his role in an insider trading scheme, was also on the ballot, along with Ola Hawatmeh, who is also from New York. Catalina Lauf, who Trump has endorsed, is not from New York or Florida, but from Illinois. Jim Oberweis ran against Lauf in Illinois.

"So, [it's] just a fascinating race there," she added.

Crowd erupts as Trump foe mocks his MAGA 'scandal piñata' opponent

Georgia Senate candidate and Trump foe Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) took a swipe at Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) that got laughs from a crowd on Tuesday.

Ossoff and Collins are vying to represent Georgia in the Senate. During a campaign event in Columbus, Georgia, joined by Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) — another President Donald Trump adversary — Ossoff launched a jab at the MAGA candidate endorsed by the president.

"This scandal piñata, Mike Collins," Ossoff said. "Every time you shake Congressman Collins, new misdeeds fall out. Have you seen it?"

The audience cracked up at the comment.

"Mike Collins is pro-war, he's pro-tariffs, he's pro-cutting your health care," Ossoff added. "He's a bigot and a Trump puppet."

Ossoff has been a sharp critic of Trump and just days ago suggested that the president had different priorities in a biting speech.

"While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings," Ossoff said. "He golfs and trades stocks. So he doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar."

Collins has faced his own share of controversies, including a House Ethics Committee investigation over allegations that he misused congressional funds and paid an intern who allegedly performed no work while dating his then-chief of staff. The Senate candidate's campaign has also been rocked by high staff turnover, an incident involving a former aide's participation in a group chat with white nationalists and renewed scrutiny over his history of racially charged social media posts.

Ossoff gets laughs for calling Mike Collins "the scandal pinata" and adds that he's "a bigot and Trump puppet" pic.twitter.com/kHbxuXYuIA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 18, 2026