Republicans fume as Trump’s scandals worsen the party’s midterm doom

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso arrive for President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., February 24, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

President Donald Trump's scandals, gaffes and controversies continue to pile up, with The Hill reporting that Republicans in Congress are growing "uncomfortable" with his conduct as polls show their midterm odds tanking further than ever before.

"Senate Republicans facing worsening polls want President Trump to rein in his extreme rhetoric, which included an attack on Pope Leo XIV for being 'WEAK on crime' and a threat to wipe out Iran’s civilization and find a quick end to the conflict with Tehran," The Hill's Tuesday morning report detailed. "GOP lawmakers are used to Trump’s hyperbolic style but want to distance themselves from his most incendiary comments as polls show Democrats have improving chances of picking up Republican-held seats in North Carolina, Ohio and Nebraska."

Speaking about Trump's attacks on the pope on Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune pushed back, a sentiment shared by numerous other Republican senators.

"I would leave the church alone," Thune said.

"I think popes and presidents should stay in their respective lanes, it’s better for all of us," Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, added in his own statement. "I agree that he should leave the church alone but the church should probably leave politics alone, too. We happen to have an outspoken president and a pretty outspoken pope."

"I thought, personally, that the approach that the president took in terms of directly attacking the pope was inappropriate," Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, said.

Republicans also expressed outrage and indignation after Trump shared an AI-generated image of himself as a Christlike religious figure, with some calling the image "blasphemous." Lawmakers who spoke with The Hill were quick to note that Trump has since deleted the photo in a rare act of retreat in the face of scandal.

"It’s a rough-and-tumble world of politics, anybody can be open to criticism. But I was glad to see the president take down that post he made," Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, told the outlet.

"I’m glad they took it down. I think he thought about it more and took it down. It’s a good decision," Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, added in his own statement.

While Republicans have long been tipped to lose the House majority in the midterms, odds are increasingly shifting against them in the Senate as well. On Monday, a new Cook Political Report found that four major Senate races in November had shifted towards the Democrats, further imperiling the GOP's grip on the chamber.

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