Host Jim Acosta (Photo: Screen capture)
The United States' 2026 midterms are only two months away, and GOP strategists are fighting to hold their majorities in both branches of Congress. But President Donald Trump's consistently low approval ratings in poll after poll are a major concern for Republicans. And according to journalist Jim Acosta, many Republicans realize that Trump is an "albatross" for their party — even if they don't want to say so publicly.
During a Thursday afternoon, September 3, appearance on MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), the former CNN reporter told host Alicia Menendez, "Donald Trump is making this midterm cycle all about himself. You know, it's almost as though Natalie Harp is going to be printing up the campaign ads for the Republicans this fall. They're all about Donald Trump. And, you know, my sense of it is … Donald Trump has hung the Republican Party out to dry."
A Reuters/Ipsos survey released on September 1 found Trump's approval rating at 33 percent overall. But on the cost of living — a major issue for voters in the midterms — Trump's approval was at 22 percent.
Acosta emphasized that GOP candidates who would like to distance themselves from Trump and his weak approval ratings are unable to do so as the midterms — which are set for Tuesday, November 3 — draw closer and closer. And the journalist speculated that perhaps Trump might enjoy having Democratic majorities in Congress to fight with in 2027.
Acosta told Menendez, "I don't think he really cares whether or not these candidates are ultimately successful come November … I do think he is trying to avoid any kind of accountability come next year. But maybe there's something going on in the back of his mind that thinks that he would relish yet another fight with Democrats were they to take the majority in Congress. And so, you know, my sense of it right now from talking to my Republican sources, and that is this: that they right now believe that Donald Trump is an albatross around their necks — that this economy is a weight that is pulling them down underwater. And there's kind of no escape from it at this point, Alicia."
Acosta continued, "They have walked the plank with Donald Trump. They are now standing at the edge of that plank, staring into the abyss. And at the bottom of that abyss is Donald Trump just, you know, continuing to shovel, making the hole deeper and deeper for all of them."