U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during an event at The Villages Charter School at The Villages, Florida, U.S., May 1, 2026. REUTERS_Nathan Howard
Daily Mail writer Mark Halperin says nobody has a clear enough idea of just how thoroughly Republicans have ruined themselves with President Donald Trump — except perhaps Republicans.
“Unsolicited advice for the midterm curious: Push past the betting-market-friendly framing, low quality polling and wafting whiffs of scandal – and recognize that coast-to-coast elections are an opportunity for the nation's voters to express how they feel about Donald Trump, the Democrats, the economy, Iran and so much more,” said Halperin, claiming to have spoken with several fretting GOP strategists predicting a "wipeout ... worse than anyone thinks."
“Voters want candidates who will fight for them and stand up to powerful interests,” Halperin reports. “… Counterintuitively, voters also want competence. They want public officials who can actually make government work, who can deliver results, who seem capable of managing problems rather than merely talking about them. Americans may be angry, but they are not looking to hire more chaos if it doesn't lead to better performance.”
Trump’s economy, gas prices and a growing belief among swing voters that he has not delivered on some of his most important promises — including lowering inflation, which he has raised —is hitting voters hard, to the point where even party strategists are wringing their hands.
“Conversations I had this week with Republican strategists from different corners of the country sounded remarkably similar,” said Halperin. “For weeks, those strategists have been telling me the same thing: the Iran conflict needs to end and gas prices need to come down if Republicans hope to avoid a substantial Democratic wave.”
“And time is beginning to run short,” Halperin added.
“Republican consultants and candidates are also getting [furious] with the President. By and large, they don't think he particularly cares all that much about sticking to the messaging that will help them focus voter attention on GOP strengths,” Halperin pointed out.
This probably explains why a new Fox News poll from Ohio shows roughly a 20-point drop in Trump's favorability rating “from where he stood when he defeated Kamala Harris comfortably in the state less than two years ago,” said Halperin. And, sadly for Republicans, it’s a reversal “that’s consistent with what has happened to the President's standing in other red states, including Florida, Texas, Alaska and Iowa, all of which happen to feature Senate races that look considerably more competitive today than Republican strategists would have thought possible only a few months ago.”
The same Fox poll, added Halperin, shows Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown leading Republican incumbent Jon Husted by eight points.
“The midterms are shaping up to be a national conversation about what kind of country Americans think they are living in – and what kind of country they want to live in next,” said Halperin. “Everything else is mostly scorekeeping.”