Republicans are poised for potentially staggering losses in this fall's midterm elections. One conservative is arguing that those losses are mostly due to a glaring problem of Republicans' own making.
In a Friday essay for conservative website The Dispatch, senior editor John McCormack (a veteran of conservative outlets The Weekly Standard and the National Review) observed that President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans appear mystified by the president's consistently low approval ratings. He wrote that a "core tenet of today’s Republican Party is that Trump cannot fail; he can only be failed," and asserted that GOP officials are twisting themselves in knots to come up with an explanation for American voters' distaste with the majority party that absolves the administration of any responsibility.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told McCormack that Republicans have to do a better job at enacting Trump's "populist agenda" and called for an increase in the minimum wage and allowing for healthcare expenses to be tax-deductible. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) argued that the GOP's major hurdle was in its messaging.
"We have won historic victories this year, but I think collectively, Republicans do need to do a better job communicating," Cruz said. "I think many of the voters aren’t aware of the victories."
However, McCormack noted that when Cruz asked whether the president's tariffs on imported goods were a factor, the Texas Republican said "tariffs are a longer conversation" before stepping into a Senate elevator. According to the Dispatch editor, Republicans could stop the bleeding by simply being willing to tackle Trump's tariffs.
"With the issues of the economy and cost of living top of mind for voters, Trump’s tariff policy certainly looks like the GOP’s biggest self-inflicted wound," he wrote. "Tariff revenue has jumped to about $30 billion per month under Trump’s second term — up from about $6 billion per month in 2024. In other words, Trump’s tariffs translate to a nearly $300 billion a year — $3 trillion a decade — tax increase paid by American consumers and businesses."
McCormack wrote that voters shouldn't hold their breath while waiting for Republicans to change their tune on the tariffs. Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) told him that the tariffs were "a very good move," and that Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) blamed the poor polling of the tariffs on "misinformation" by people who want to "undermine President Trump."
"While there is a decent chance the Supreme Court may strike down some of the president’s tariff authority in a case that could be decided as soon as today, there’s still no sign that the congressional GOP is ready to defy a president who insisted in his speech to House Republicans on Tuesday: 'We got rich because of tariffs,'" he wrote.
Click here to read McCormack's full essay in The Dispatch (subscription required).
