Ex-GOP official says Trump has entered MAGA's 'fat Elvis' period

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as he meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement have entered what one former Republican official has described as their "fat Elvis" era, as his campaign tactics and recycled attacks are wearing thin with some Republican voters who feel the president is past his prime.

Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill, delivered her verdict in a Thursday interview with The Guardian, arguing that the conspiracy theories and cheap attacks and high school nicknames have run their course and are no longer resonating with voters facing the reality of high living costs

Setmayer said Trump's political playbook has become predictable, describing his movement as the "fat Elvis period of the MAGA election campaign tactics."

The comparison suggests the movement is continuing its most successful hits long after those tactics have stopped working.

The article also touches on the embarrassing misinformation campaign targeting Democrat James Talarico, who is too close to comfort to potentially win the Senate seat in Texas for the GOP.

The controversy began when Talarico disappeared from the campaign trail for nine days to recover from the flu. His absence turned into a weird conspiracy theory that he had checked into a mental health facility after suffering a mental breakdown.

Many MAGA allies, including former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, helped amplify the rumors when former GOP fundraiser Caroline Wren appeared on his War Room podcast and repeated claims that Talarico had entered a psychiatric facility.

Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who is Talarico’s opponent, also joined the attacks, posting a mock wanted poster questioning Talarico's whereabouts.

Trump himself mocked Talarico during an October 7 rally in San Antonio, baselessly suggesting the Democrat had become sick after being forced to eat meat despite supposedly being vegan.

Conservative social media influencer Nick Sorter shared a 47-second audio clip on X that he said proved that Talarico had been discharged from a mental health treatment center in Mason, Ohio. In the clip, a woman Sorter claimed was an employee appeared to say Talarico “was just discharged this evening.”

The Bulwark later exposed the hoaxafter obtaining the full recording, which contradicted the influencer's account.

The facility also publicly confirmed that Talarico had never received treatment there, and he confirmed that he had never even been to Ohio before.

Setmayer used the Talarico hit job as an example of the conspiracy tactics that no longer move voters.

"The voters have become hip to this game," she said, adding that everyday Americans are preoccupied with dealing with the consequences of Trump’s failed policies.

Reed Galen, a former Republican strategist and cofounder of the Lincoln Project, said of the Talarico fiasco that the case was a reminder of how effective the Russian disinformation machines could be.

Galen argued that the mere fact that it was amplified without any evidence and became an issue in the Texas Senate campaign proved its effectiveness.

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