All posts tagged "republican party"

GOP lost Texas seat because 'people are getting sick' of one MAGA priority: columnist

Republican Party representatives misread the Texas Senate election according to a political analysist who says one issue was an overstep from the party.

Democrat Taylor Rehmet would go on to defeat Republican Leigh Wambsganss in the special election for the Texas state senate position. It was a shock result considering Donald Trump had carried it by 17% in the 2024 election. But just two years later there has been a 31% swing away from the GOP to Democratic Party candidate Rehmet.

The reason for this may be a subtle one, according to Salon columnist Amanda Marcotte. She wrote, "There are strong signs that Rehmet won in no small part because suburban Fort Worth has long been on the frontline in the culture war over book banning.

"Wambsganss built her political career advocating for strict censorship in schools and libraries, and her loss signals that, even in this very conservative district, people are getting sick of the far-right telling them what they cannot read."

Librarians from the area where Rehmet won the election also considered the effects of Wambsganss' rhetoric over reading. Audrey Wilson-Youngblood said a "huge swath of pro-book banning candidates" were elected to the school board, and that those in the area were growing tired of their choices.

Wambsganss made no secret of her thoughts on arguing for certain books to be banned. In 2022, she said all books with LGBTQ+ characters should be banned because it is "normalizing a lifestyle that is a sexual choice".

Marcotte went on to suggest there are lessons here for the Democratic Party to take into account against their GOP opponents across the country.

She wrote, "Rehmet’s win shows that, at least in some places, MAGA’s threats to peace and freedom on the local level remain a pressing concern. A lot of voters want the culture war chaos to go away, especially when it comes to schools, so the kids can concentrate on learning.

"In many places, Democrats can win with a message of protecting the right of kids to learn in peace, instead of being the targets of a mind control project run by Bible-thumpers. If it worked in suburban Fort Worth, it’s a strategy that could rack up Democratic wins in other red districts."

GOP lawmakers secretly predict a huge 'blue wave' in midterms: 'We're on the defense'

GOP lawmakers believe a blue wave is on the way but what they do not know yet is how high the wave will be.

Speaking anonymously, a collection of Republican Party members believe they are set for a rough time in the midterms, irrespective of voter turnout. History has shown the party in opposition can make major gains against the party in power, as was the case for the Senate majority flip to Democrats in 2006.

"There’s going to be a blue wave," one anonymous GOP rep told The Hill. "If there was a Democrat in power, there’d be a red wave. It’s the major of midterms.

"The question is it going to be 2 feet, 5 feet or higher than that. It’s still too early to predict what’s going to happen, but clearly we’re more on the defense."

Another unnamed lawmaker believes the party can already feel the change in the air, and that they are not optimistic about their results in the upcoming midterms.

They said, "Republicans are right to be worried about the midterms. You can feel when the water temperature changes, and it feels like it’s going to change in a second."

A third lawmaker suggested the Texas special election loss for the GOP is "a wake-up call" ahead of the midterm elections. They said, "Senators are saying more and more loudly that they’re very, very concerned about the environment, that it’s continuing to deteriorate. They say it over and over again."

A new report has since suggested GOP lawmakers have tired of Donald Trump and his negotiating tactics. The report cited instances such as Trump's threats to acquire Greenland and his trade negotiations with allies, such as Canada, as examples of Trump blustering and backing down.

Trump has consistently claimed that his unpredictability was one of his negotiation tactics that helped him get the upper hand. But The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Trump's allies and adversaries appear to be "waiting him out" or "turning away" as they wait for the president to calm down, rather than endure the "abrupt starts, stops, and humiliations that can accompany engaging with him."

GOP insider gives 'losing' assessment of party ahead of midterms: 'Not a good thing'

A Republican Party representative has said the party will struggle in the months ahead as public mood shifts over recent ICE shootings.

Jose Arango, the Republican chair of Hudson County, New Jersey, says the GOP is not offering an image close to relatable given Donald Trump's administration actions in Minneapolis. Arango, speaking to Politico, said, "The image that has been created is not a good thing. We’re losing in the public relations campaign."

Trump's polling figures on immigration hit a new low earlier this week, with Reuters reporting approval had fallen from 41% to 39%. The 39% approval rating is the lowest figure Trump has faced on the topic of immigration during his second term.

GOP reps are turning on Trump and his rhetoric over recent ICE activity. Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said, "The president can feel, generally, that his policies at the border have been largely supported by a majority of Americans. But what he’s doing inside the border seems to be not working."

An unnamed strategist has since shared their thoughts on what Trump must now do to fix the immigration approval rating. The anonymous source said, "When I think of immigrants broadly, I don’t think of Minnesota."

"People want to see, like, okay, ‘I voted for taking criminal illegal immigrants and getting them out of the country. I want to see criminal illegal immigrants taken out of the country. I want to see more miles of wall being built.’ I feel like we talked about the wall weekly in Trump 1. I don’t remember the last time we talked about the wall in Trump 2."

Trump may be causing further complications for the GOP in the lead up to the midterms, with a strategist pulling apart his insulting comments.

Tara Setmayer, co-founder and chief executive officer of the Seneca Project, told MS NOW's Chris Jansing that although Trump has insisted that "economic growth is exploding" under his leadership during his speech Tuesday in Clive, Iowa, data has shown otherwise."

"As a 30-year political communicator, I have never seen anyone ever be advised that they should be insulting their voters," Setmayer said. "I guess Trump is in the 'I'm going to insult everyone' era of his presidency. That doesn't go over. And when he jets in and out of these places, places that are now competitive. Iowa is a competitive space, that's why he's there."

'For God's sake, keep it up': Pete Buttigieg's impassioned plea to keep pressure on GOP

Pete Buttigieg has pleaded with members of the public to keep the pressure on the Republican Party.

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, the former Department of Transport head said Donald Trump and his administration were feeling the effects of political pressure from a growing discontent in the public. Buttigieg's video, titled 'The Ground is Shifting', called on people to keep criticizing the government and keeping the momentum.

He said, "Of course there is a very, very long way to go, fearsome and grotesque abuses are continuing even as we speak, and there has been an almost complete lack of accountability but the ground is clearly shifting because all of us together have been doing the work of shifting it.

"Things that can sound old fashioned, protesting, calling out members of Congress, even just speaking up in person or online, all of it is adding up to an accelerating change in the power dynamics of this country. It represents a live example of principle that hope can be the consequence of action, not just its cause.

"All of this is making good on our belief and ultimately, in this country, the people still direct the government, and not the other way around."

Buttigieg ended his statement by underlining just how important it was to keep the pressure on the GOP and Trump's administration, with the midterms set to take place in November this year.

Buttigieg added, "I know that it can seem like the shamelessness and the ruthlessness of the people in charge gives them the big advantage, but they have a massive disadvantage as well, which is that many of them know that what they're part of is wrong.

"The sooner they feel like they might have to answer for it one day, the sooner this house of cards will fall. We don't have much time to lose, so for God's sake, let's keep it up."

Jon Stewart rips into Trump admin and MAGA for 'giving up 2nd Amendment'

Jon Stewart has ripped into Donald Trump's administration and MAGA faithful for their comments on a recent protest against ICE agents.

Pretti was shot and killed during a protest in Minneapolis just weeks after Renee Good, 37, was shot three times by an ICE agent. Stewart has since pounced on the president and his administration for their rhetoric around the shooting of Pretti.

The Trump admin has claimed Pretti carried a handgun and resisted attempts to be disarmed at the time of his death. Eyewitnesses, officials, and Pretti's family have all denied this claim, with videos of the shooting showing no evidence to support claims made by US Border Patrol head Greg Bovino.

Scott Bessent, during an appearance on ABC's This Week, says he would "bring a billboard, not a gun" to a protest. Stewart has since criticized his comments, as well as Bovino, the Trump admin, and MAGA rhetoric following Pretti's death.

Stewart, during an appearance on The Daily Show, said, "People don't bring billboards to f***ing protests, they call them signs. There is nothing that I love more than watching somebody deliver a practised line that they think is devastating, only to trip on their own d**k. This is blowing my f***ing mind.

"The people that brought you this guy [Kyle Rittenhouse], and these guys, [January 6 protestors], as f***ing heroes, for brandishing their weapons, are telling you the big mistake was letting a citizen legally carry a gun.

"I wasn't shocked when you guys gave up the 1st Amendment, and I wasn't shocked when you dropped the 4th Amendment, and the 10th Amendment, and the 14th Amendment, at Trump's behest. But the 2nd? Isn't that kind of your load bearing ball of the 'Don't Tread On Me' flag? Your snake is down to a newt.

"Your deeply felt constitutional principles are suddenly the Black Knight in Monty Python." Stewart went on to say guns are the GOP's "whole personality", pointing out some members of the party had weapons in their Zoom meeting backgrounds, on lapel pins, and on Christmas cards.

Footage of Ted Cruz cooking bacon by firing a rifle was then played by Stewart, who was left stunned by the clip. He added, "The crazy thing is, the right had jettisoned the entire integrity and belief of their political worldview.

"The entire foundation of it for a guy who really doesn't give a f**k. You gave it all up, this is your president on this harrowing weekend of bloodshed. This is who you threw it all away for."

Republicans put on notice as Trump eyes 'norm-shattering' midterm plot

The Republican Party must stand against Donald Trump's midterm plot as best they can, a political analyst has warned.

Whether the GOP representatives actively call out the president for recent, unprecedented actions is yet to be seen. Nathaniel Rakich, writing for Salon, warned that Trump may call on the troops in 2026, as he had wanted to in 2020. Trump deployed thousands of National Guard personnel in Washington, D.C., shortly after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The controversy at the time does not appear to have affected Trump, who Rakich believes will call in further federal agents in the lead up to the midterms. He wrote, "The November midterms will be the first federal general election with Trump as president since that 2020 contest, and even before his comments to the Times, plenty of people were already worried that Trump would attempt to deploy the National Guard around the 2026 election."

Whether Trump attempts to use the National Guard around the midterms is yet to be seen, but his previous rhetoric has some worried he will.

Rakich called on Republicans to stand against Trump should he do so, writing, "And while the path to the U.S. Senate majority does mostly run through red states, and Republicans have, on the whole, not shown much interest in standing up to Trump, it’s not a given that every Republican governor would acquiesce to Trump sending in troops — especially for as norm-shattering a reason as to police an election."

A post from The New York Times highlighted how multiple GOP politicians had privately criticized Trump but had not made any comment publicly.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told Republican Party donors they would be met with an election "bloodbath" should they back Trump's tariff policy.

“Trump was in a bad mood – I've been in conversations where he was very happy. This was not one of them,” Cruz can be heard saying in the leaked audio to a room of donors, Axios reported.

“[I said to Trump,] Mr. President, if we get to November of [2026] and people's 401(k)s are down 30% and prices are up 10–20% at the supermarket, we're going to go into Election Day, face a bloodbath. You're going to lose the House, you're going to lose the Senate, you're going to spend the next two years being impeached every single week.”

“F--- you, Ted,” Trump apparently responded, Cruz could be heard telling donors in the audio recording.

GOP voters turn on JD Vance presidency run: 'I just don't think he can win'

Republican Party voters are unconvinced by a JD Vance presidential run and say they would turn on the vice president should he be the nominee, according to reporting.

Problems for Vance began not recently, but at the start of Donald Trump's second term as president. According to GOP voters speaking to Politico, the ties to the old establishment will hinder his chances. One voter, Sam Z, said, "I don’t think Vance can win, because I think he’s too connected to the current political establishment in Washington, which I think has a very negative approval rating right now."

"If you look at what he was about in 2018, 2019, 2020, and you look at what he’s about now, it’s very, very different… Somebody younger running in office would be awesome. So that’s the one thing I wouldn’t mind for Vance. But overall, I just don’t think [he] can win. I think he’s kind of flip-flopped on a lot of issues."

Other voters also believe Vance's ties to the current administration are a hindrance rather than a benefit for any potential presidential run in 2028.

One voter, Alexandre M, said, "I feel like it's just time for someone new, especially for the Republican Party." They went on to suggest the Epstein files is a growing issue too, "because JD Vance was also pushing that as well."

Vance was left dealing with an embarrassing moment earlier this week after suggesting the American economy is like the Titanic.

Speaking at an event in Toledo in his home state of Ohio under a banner reading, “Lower Prices, Bigger Paychecks,” Vance addressed the worsening affordability crisis by once again blaming former Democratic President Joe Biden—who left office a year ago—for the problem.

“The Democrats talk a lot about the affordability crisis in the United States of America. And yes, there is an affordability crisis—one created by Joe Biden’s policies,” Vance said. “You don’t turn the Titanic around overnight. It takes time to fix what was broken.”

'Striking': Shock as Trump makes 'unexpected' phone call to work with longtime rival

Democratic Party Senators confirmed they had heard from Donald Trump, who had surprisingly reached out to party members to discuss the affordability crisis.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer have both been in touch with the president, who, Politico reports, reached out to the leading Dem representatives earlier this week. It may mean a mood change in the White House as one official suggested there is a consensus that could be reached between Dems and the Republican Party on housing and drug prices.

Alex Gangitano wrote, "For a president who wants his party to retain control of Congress, it’s a striking – even unexpected – level of outreach to some of the most liberal members on the opposing side. It comes as both parties compete for the mantle of affordability."

Part of the reason for Trump reaching out to Schumer and Warren, the latter saying she "did not recognize the phone number" when the president called, could be to make headway before the midterms.

An anonymous White House official said, "A lot of these proposals have, in part, been put forward by Democrats." They went on to suggest the affordability actions Trump had been in contact with Dem reps about were "more populist-inflected than some of the more classic proposals that had been worked on."

They also noted "pretty marquee issues where the perspective of more standard old-school Republican orthodoxy is not necessarily in step with where Republican voters are" could be worked on between Dems and the GOP.

"Some of these are issues where the Washington GOP consensus and the GOP base consensus are divergent," the source added.

Gangitano added, "While Trump’s outreach is new, enacting policy changes would require a dramatic reversal in the president’s ability to work with Democrats on Capitol Hill.

"During much of his first term as well as last year, that relationship has been deeply toxic — a government funding meeting last year prompted Trump to post a deepfake of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a sombrero — and, until now, neither side has shown any appetite to make amends."

But Trump's sudden call to Warren to ask about capping credit card interest rates, a project Warren had been working on for years, is a shift in the Dems' favor. Warren added, "Congress can pass legislation to cap credit card rates if he [Trump] will actually fight for it."

GOP 'set for embarrassment' as Jack Smith threatens to blow up Congress hearing: analyst

The Republican Party could be setting themselves up for an embarrassing fall with a big assumption over Jack Smith's testimony.

The former special counsel member is set to publicly testify before the House Judiciary Committee Thursday. Smith is expected to speak on his decision to prosecute Donald Trump on a series of federal crimes in 2023.

While the GOP may be hoping Smith does not say anything new in his testimony, they could be in for a surprise, according to political commentator Hayes Brown.

Writing on MSNOW, Hayes believes the Republican Party will find themselves shifting rapidly should Smith not fall in line with how Robert Mueller presented his testimony.

Hayes wrote, "But if the GOP is banking on Smith following Mueller’s lead and simply pointing back to his report, they’re setting themselves up for embarrassment. If anything, the MAGA loyalists have given Smith a chance to highlight the yawning gulf between the story they tell about the 2020 election and the truth."

The GOP may have bitten off more than they can chew with Smith's testimony, as Hayes suggested the successful indictments the prosecutor had managed against Trump is a difference maker.

Hayes wrote, "Mueller had ultimately decided that he had no jurisdiction to indict a sitting president and had told reporters that if asked to testify before Congress, 'any testimony from this office would not go beyond our report. It contains our findings and analysis, and the reasons for the decisions we made.'

"Without the ability to carry forward a prosecution, as he told frustrated House Democrats, he couldn’t in good conscience present a case against Trump. Nor would Mueller 'totally exonerate' Trump as the president claimed the report had done.

"Smith, by contrast, successfully obtained multiple indictments against Trump. As he said in his closed-door deposition before the Judiciary Committee last month, his office 'believed that we had proof beyond a reasonable doubt for all the charges and that we would have gotten convictions at trial.'

"And based on the transcript and video from that deposition, the committee’s Democrats will be more than happy to help Smith lay out the case that Trump successfully managed to delay long enough to get re-elected."

'They've given up': GOP member releases tirade against colleagues 'rolling over' for Trump

Some members of the Republican Party have accused the Rules Committee of "rolling over" to make way for Donald Trump's demands.

One member of the GOP claimed there were some bills passed into the House that would not have made it there had it not been for the president's demands. Thomas Massie, an outspoken critic of Trump, told The Independent he was surprised at how stringent some Republican Party members had been when following Trump's orders.

He said, "I thought I'd have some other people occasionally when he deviated from his promises. I mean, my colleagues here are increasingly being forced to choose between President Trump and President Trump's promises, and so far, they've chose President Trump but not his promises."

Specifically on Rules Committee members Chip Roy and Ralph Norman, Massie said, "I'm kind of disappointed with what's going on there."

"There's three conservatives who were supposed to make things happen, and they seem to have given up on that effort, and the rules committee, that's totally gone."

The Rules Committee is currently led by Virginia Foxx, and was previously run by Republican Party members Tom Cole and Michael Burgess.

Disgruntlements within the GOP come as Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman suggests it would take just eight defectors in the party to sever Trump's strong grip on power.

He wrote, "What can we say about the cowardly Republicans in Congress, who are still sustaining Trump even though many of them – perhaps most of them – are privately appalled by his behavior?"

"It would take just eight of these people — four Republican senators and four Republican House members — to switch sides and caucus with the Democrats to end GOP control of Congress and eliminate much of Trump’s power."

"But taking such a step would mean risking Trump’s wrath by standing up and acting like patriots, rather than knuckling down and averting their eyes as Trump descends into madness."