Trump’s ‘a Democrat’: Embarrassed GOP strategist downplays the president

U.S. President Donald Trump, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Miami, Florida, U.S., April 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

President Donald Trump's historic losses in the 2026 midterm elections — which he had planned on challenging but could not because of the magnitude of his defeat — have so humiliated his Republican Party, one strategist is trying to convince people that Trump is more similar to a Democrat.

"You have to remember Donald Trump has been a Democrat much longer than he’s ever been a Republican," Bryan Lanza, a leading Republican strategist and partner at the Mercury Public Affairs firm, told France 24 on Wednesday. "And a significant part of this tariff policy is not normal Republican policy. So no, I’m not surprised by his tone. And like I said, the president’s always looking for opportunities and deals, and he sees some challenges ahead with Democrats, but he also sees some opportunities."

Lanza went on to blame the tariffs for Trump's losses of both the Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday night.

"Listen, I think tariff Liberation Day became the biggest mistake," Lanza argued. "And I think he acknowledged that. You saw the president, within 48 hours, sort of pause what Liberation Day was going to be and try to make those adjustments in a different way. I think that sent a message to the American people that this change was going to have a huge impact, but it was going to be sloppy."

The GOP leader then tried to put a positive spin on Trump's performance as president.

":ook, if you look at stocks, they’re at record numbers," Lanza said. "So there are some components of the US economy that are healthy, but there are other components that aren’t as healthy that probably need more focus now. And I think that’s where he has the ability to make the changes."

France 24 then asked Lanza, "What incentive do you think Republican representatives have to remain loyal to Trump? Do you expect any of them to break with him as early as right now?"

Lanze insisted that his party would continue to be loyal to their president.

"I think the potential’s there for Trump to still have significant power within the GOP caucus," Lanza told France 24. "I think the Republicans are looking for a unified approach to dealing with Democrats, and I think they see the presidency as a good weapon, as a good tool. I think they want to see another Republican elected post-Trump. Both sides do, President Trump and the Republicans. So I do think they’ll work together on more things than not, but I do think there is the expectation that President Trump is going to make some changes, which he controls, right?"

He continued, "If you look at the two biggest factors that were a drag on this election, it was the economy, tariffs, which he can unilaterally work with the party to reverse instantaneously, tomorrow. And then the Iran war, which is a lot more complicated and a lot more risky, but he needs to find a solution there. Get those two things moved off the table, and then you see the third year of President Trump. We’ve learned from the first cycle of President Trump that the third year is when the jobs kick in, when the new business comes in, because they’ve done a significant amount of deregulation that will continue to accelerate these things. So I think there are some components he can change fast. The war becomes a more challenging thing, but if he finds a way to extricate us in a strong position, I think you see a rebound pretty quickly."

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