U.S. President Donald Trump reacts on stage at the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas, U.S., September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare
On Monday, a longtime GOP insider pointed to evidence of a “vibe shift” in conservative politics toward increasingly embattled President Donald Trump. This is according to political commentator Charlie Sykes, who parted with the Republican Party over its embrace of Trump, and now asserts that the president’s enablers are beginning to turn on him.
“With just 40 days until the midterm elections, let us survey the state of our promised Golden Age,” writes Sykes. “Moscow is burning; China’s Xi gets ready to steal Donald Trump’s lunch; the price of diesel tops $6.50 a gallon; the Houthis are on the march; the war in the Mideast expands; Trump dithers, then throws the Saudis under the bus; and the President of Peace announces plans to put snipers and drones on his ginormous Vanity Arch.” Meanwhile, he notes that polls make it clear Trump’s failures will “drag down Republicans in November’s midterm elections” as voters express their outrage over the war, spiraling economy, and other issues.
“As the midterms loom, the vibes are also shifting,” says Sykes. Republican candidates are realizing that Trump is electoral “kryptonite,” and now even MAGA lawmakers are distancing themselves from him. “Courts restrain him more,” notes Sykes, and “GOP candidates criticize him more. The public turns on him more.”
Sykes is referring to a number of defeats and embarrassments Trump has encountered in recent weeks. The Supreme Court – which he thought he could count on to deliver him wins – has dealt his agenda several blows, including a recent check to his attack on mail-in voting, as a number of other judges have ruled against him. At the same time, Republican lawmakers are becoming increasingly willing to voice criticism of him, his family, and his administration. Even his longtime allies have begun literally begging him to change his course and behavior, with 92-year-old singer, Republican, and friend Pat Boone telling Trump to “try being quiet” over the weekend.
As the “vibes” have shifted, so too have the polls, with his approval rating plunging to a new low of 29 percent: his first time dropping below 30 percent in either term. As a result, GOP midterm candidates who once made their allegiance to Trump central to their campaign messaging have begun removing him from election materials and openly criticizing him. On Monday, for example, MAGA-oriented Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) – who is running a tight race for the Senate – took to social media to complain that Americans are being “squeezed” economically by Trump’s war with Iran.
To close, Sykes quotes a new piece by Axios, which asserted, “This is what the beginning of the end looks like, which is what scares Trump advisers and confidants most. Trump often retreats to his worst impulses when he feels most powerless.” With that in mind, warns Sykes, things are “going to get worse” before they get better.
