Despite narrowly avoiding an upset in a deep-red Tennessee congressional district this week and losing multiple high-profile statewide elections last month, some MAGA influencers are convinced the Republican Party can avoid steep losses in the midterms by sticking with President Donald Trump.
Axios reported Wednesday that prominent conservatives have diagnosed the GOP's problem as being insufficiently pro-Trump, and that Republicans who lost recent contests (like the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections) only came up short because they weren't MAGA enough.
Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio insisted to Politico that the Republicans can win if they "stay the course and talk about the realities of the economy." And Trump himself has maintained that Democrats harping on the "affordability" issue were perpetuating a "con job" and spreading a "fake narrative."
"The Republican Party ... needs to double down on the Trump agenda," far-right podcaster Vince Coglianese said on Rumble after last month's elections. "The controlled burn of the Republican Party needs to continue."
However, not all of Trump's acolytes are convinced that tacking closer to Trump is a winning strategy. After Rep.-elect Matt Van Epps' (R-Tenn.) narrow victory Tuesday night, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said on his "War Room" podcast that Republicans should push to enact as much of the president's policies before next year's midterm elections.
"If now we ever had a clarion call for more direct action ... it has to be now," Bannon said.
"The closeness of this race in a district Trump won by 22 points last year should be a wake-up call to congressional Republicans that they have to change course and start doing work, or get destroyed in 2026," said Sean Davis of far-right news outlet The Federalist.
Click here to read Axios report in its entirety.