Trump's Self-Indulgence Deepens G.O.P. Fears in Midterms "The stupid stuff is killing our chances,"

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/25/us/politics/trump-gop-fears-midterms.html?unlocked_article_code=1.lFA.0PVP.d86PLSdN2KO1&smid=url-share

Trump’s Self-Indulgence Deepens G.O.P. Fears in Midterms

“The stupid stuff is killing our chances,” said a retiring Republican senator.


A little more than five months ahead of the midterm elections, President Trump seems to be focused on virtually anything other than keeping Republican control of Congress.

He endorsed a MAGA challenger over Texas’s senior Republican senator, ignoring warnings that he could endanger the seat. He has boasted almost daily about his expensive and expansive new White House ballroom. He has minimized rising gas costs, waving off spiking prices at the pump as “peanuts” last week compared to what he is pursuing in Iran. And even as he engaged over the weekend in negotiations to end the Iran war that he began, Mr. Trump has made plain that he prioritizes his record abroad above domestic affordability, which he has dismissed repeatedly as a Democratic “hoax.”

For many, a new jaw-dropper came last week when Mr. Trump created a $1.8 billion fund to pay people who say they have been victims of “weaponization and lawfare,” including those who attacked the Capitol and law enforcement officers there, on Jan. 6, 2021.

Incensed Senate Republicans, many of whom lived through that day, returned home vexed by a president who appears set on pursuing his personal priorities ahead of the November midterm elections, even if doing so undermines his own party. They angrily abandoned Washington on Thursday without funding the president’s immigration crackdown or the $1 billion he wants for his ballroom.

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But even some of Mr. Trump’s Republican allies are growing frustrated by what they see as his Trump First agenda, though most are skittish of openly crossing a president with thin skin and a long memory, according to interviews with multiple Republican officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid the president’s ire.

[Irish_Dem]

1. They only care about the damage to themselves.

They have no concern about the damage to the country and American people.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

5. true

[hatrack]

2. It's ALL "Stupid Stuff", Mr. Cowardly Shitsack Anonymous Retiring Republican Senator . . .

Or have you not been in DC for the past 10 years?

[eppur_se_muova]

3. The "Stupid Stuff" is all he has left -- and the rest of the GOP can't come up with anything better !! nt

[gulliver]

4. Whistling past the graveyard

Trump's not a political dummy. Quite the contrary.

A midterm loss for Republicans that is not a blowout will range from useless to self-destructive for Dems. A blowout, therefore, is what we should have been aiming for.

My greatest fear is that we get a squeaker win in one or both Congressional chambers. Nothing will get past the veto, so nothing will be accomplished. And we'll have a whole bunch of emotionally compelling "showboating against the fascists" to set the Republicans up for an easy win in 2028.

I do like that I'm seeing some degree of seriousness from our leaders. I don't care about fire.