Although Oklahoma's conservative two-term Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, is far from a Never Trumper, tensions between him and President Donald Trump have been increasing lately. Trump was furious when Stitt, who heads the National Governors Association, politely disagreed with his decision to exclude two Democratic governors, Maryland's Wes Moore and Colorado's Jared Polis, from a White House event. And he is attacking Stitt as a RINO (Republican In Name Only) on his Truth Social platform.
During an interview with Politico's Adam Wren posted on X n February 19, the outgoing governor — whose second term ends in early January 2027 — spoke candidly about the 2026 midterms. And he acknowledged that, according to polls, his party could be in trouble.
Stitt told Wren, "I think the American people want a president to give us real solutions. Let's stop the fighting. What are the real solutions? I tell people — some of my friends when I'm back home — it feels like we're a car racing towards a cliff. And right now, my party's driving, and the Democratic Party's in the passenger seat. And we're fighting over the control of the radio. And our car is racing towards the cliff here."
The Oklahoma governor continued, "And then, you know, in three years, you may have a Democrat driving, and the Republicans will be in the passenger seat. We'll still be fighting over the radio."
Stitt lamented that "Congress is not getting anything done."
Stitt told Wren, "We haven't passed a balanced budget in Congress since the '90s. (President) Bill Clinton was the last time we had a balanced budget…. We literally have a crisis that's facing us, and nobody seems to be talking about it."