Trump digging himself into an even deeper hole: ex-GOP strategist

With the United States' 2026 midterms only six months away, President Donald Trump's weak approval ratings are a major concern for GOP strategists and organizers. Republicans fear losing the U.S. House of Representatives, and Democratic strategists are saying that flipping the U.S. Senate — although an uphill climb — isn't out of the question for them.

In a "Fast Politics" video posted on Sunday night, May 3, The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson — a Never Trump conservative and former GOP strategist — argued that Trump is not only wildly unpopular, but keeps finding ways to dig himself even deeper into the hole.

When liberal journalist Molly Jong-Fast — who hosts "Fast Politics" with him — described Trump as "not very popular," Wilson responded, "I would say not very popular is putting it mildly. I would say that if he were not protected by the Secret Service, people would throw rocks at him in the streets and trash at him. He is really unpopular."

Jong-Fast noted Trump's unpopularity on a range of issues in polls, including the economy to cost of living.

Wilson told Jong-Fast, "The number one issues — affordability, inflation, prices, gas —those things are right at the top of the pile right now. And he is now official a boat anchor around the necks of Republicans running at every level in this country. And they don't know how to get out of it. They don't know how to shake themselves away from him, because they're afraid of him. It's bad."

The ex-GOP strategist added that the Iran war and high gas prices keep adding to Trump's unpopularity.

Wilson argued, "Even if the Strait (of Hormuz) opens today, people are still going to be saying, 'Godd––! Gas was expensive.'"