U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from the media during a press conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 6, 2026.
Former deputy White House press secretary Sarah Matthews on Friday tore apart Republicans who have suddenly found their backbones after losing in GOP primaries.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Thursday got into an online battle with outgoing Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) over Republican-on-Republican attacks. Cornyn spent the past several months being attacked by his own party for not being pro-Donald Trump enough, despite having a 99 percent voting record with the president.
Cornyn's interview with The New York Times cautioned that he thinks the worst is coming for the GOP in the final two years of the Trump administration.
"He's going to have the most miserable two years of his life in the last two years of his term, I think, because I think November is going to be a disaster," Cornyn said.
After harsh primary races, Republicans have often pivoted to try and appeal to voters outside of the MAGA wing. Trump may not be up for reelection, but one reporter explained he's not going to pivot to being more moderate or more focused on issues that matter to voters.
MS NOW White House reporter Laura Barrón-López said that the White House told her, "There is no pivot," even if some of the aides around the president want there to be one, want more focus on the economy and domestic issues," said Barrón-López. "The president himself isn't focused on that. And there are others around the president who genuinely believe, this former official told me, that he has the unique ability to turn out republicans in election cycles."
That hasn't necessarily worked out in past midterm elections. This time around, Trump has told reporters that he doesn't care about the midterms.
"But another sourceclose to the White House didtell me that they think thatSenate Republicans don't reallyfear the president anymore," she continued. "Andyou're starting to slowly seeover the course of the lastmonth or so, even though thepresident has clearly knockedout Republican incumbents andattacked members of his ownparty, there are Republicansacross the Senate, especially,and also the House, who are voting against him on key issues."
But it was Matthews who clapped back at Cornyn for only now standing up to Trump.
"There is never going to be enough for him, other than 100 percent, you know, slavish adherence to whatever he wants. But obviously that's not what the Senator's role is supposed to be," Cornyn told the Times.
"Yeah, it's a little rich to hear him say that now, because this is what we've known all along about Donald Trump," Matthews said of Cornyn. "That loyalty is a one-way street with himwith him. He demands it from everyone, but he gives it to no one. And so, it's nice to hear Senator Cornyn find his voice and some of these other Republicans be more emboldened now."
The problem, she said, is that this is always the way Trump operated, and it should have been something Republicans realized much sooner.
"He's always operated not in the best interest for the Republican Party or for the American people. It's always been what is in Donald Trump's best interest," explained Matthews. "And we're seeing that play out with all the things that he has been focused on in this second term, whether it be the ballroom or the arch or the UFC event at the White House for his birthday, he's not actually focused on the priorities of the American people, which would then help the Republicans in the midterm elections, because Donald Trump doesn't care about the Republican Party."
She said that she's happy to see Cornyn finally pushing back, but it should have been something he did long ago.
"I guess I'm happy to see Cornyn, you know, pushing back on Trump now that he's going to be leaving office because he lost his primary election. And it's not just Cornyn I'm singling out. There are other republicans like [Thom] Tillis and [Bill] Cassidy who have now become a little bit more emboldened," she name-checked.
But she sees this with Republicans frequently. They suddenly "find their voice when they're retiring, or they've been primaried out." She said she wishes that "more of them had a backbone" to push back against Trump. With more willing to do that, "Trump wouldn't have been able to get away with some of these other things that we've seen take place in his second administration," she said.