Trump biographer says army of MAGA 'buffoons' will be a midterm disaster

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation about the Iran war at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. April 1, 2026. Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS

President Donald Trump is building another army of MAGA "buffoon" candidates for the coming midterms, but according to his one-time biographer, his absence from the ballot is setting up the perfect conditions for a GOP disaster in November.

Michael Wolff is a longtime reporter and author, best known for his extensive coverage of Trump's political career, including several books about his chaotic first term. In the latest edition of his Daily Beast podcast, "Inside Trump's Head," he echoed the growing sentiment that many voters simply will not show up for the midterms, all because the president is not at the top of the ballot, leaving his army of "buffoons" missing the support of their "ultimate buffoon."

“There’s an interesting pattern of men who won’t admit to their wives that they are voting for Donald Trump, and then they vote for Donald Trump,” Wolff said. “The dynamic is different in this midterm election because he’s not on the ballot. So, you know, the buffoons who are running in his name don’t have the luxury of being the ultimate buffoon, as it were... You might like to vote for the greatest buffoon of all time. But the mini-buffoons, you don’t really want... Ken Paxton. Do you really want to vote for Ken Paxton?”

Wolff's co-host Joanna Coles put forward another theory for why Trump overperformed expectations in 2016 and 2024: many people do not like to admit they like him, especially when pollsters come knocking. It also seems that this same dynamic does not apply to his many MAGA-friendly endorsements.

“I think a lot of people don’t want to admit that they support Donald Trump,” Coles explained. “They don’t want to admit they like his party, so they don’t admit it. And then, right up in their final run to the privacy of the voting booth, they can finally admit they do like him. Yeah, no, they would prefer him to the other candidates.”

Wolff added later that the different sort of presence Trump has on the midterm ballot will prove to be a net-negative for Republicans, given the growing voter disdain for his leadership.

“Donald Trump is not on the ballot, but Donald Trump is all over the ballot,” Wolff said. “He is the subject... We’re in a situation where the specter of Donald Trump is on the ballot, and that’s a negative, rather than Donald Trump in person being on the ballot, which turns out, inexplicably, to be a positive.”

Trump himself has acknowledged this theory about his effect on turnout when he is on the ballot, and is reportedly fond of the idea, even as it leaves the GOP adrift without him. He has, in recent statements, urged voters to act as if he were on the ballot this year, though it remains unclear if and how well those pleas will work out.

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