Republican strategist Doug Hye is concerned that President Donald Trump could destroy GOP campaigns and candidates if they aren't sufficiently loyal to him.
Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fl.) is a recent example of a Republican who shot a direct-to-camera campaign ad while in Washington, begging Trump to stop listening to his advisors on immigration.
Data Analyst Harry Enten had just finished an analysis on the significant loss of support Trump has among Latino voters who cast ballots for him in 2024. At that time, Trump was up 18 points over his Democratic opponent. That has now fallen by over 40 points.
"Well, I think it all comes down to information; both empirical and anecdotal," Hye began. "Empirical: you're seeing all kinds of polling data. And just as the numbers that Harry pointed out, Donald Trump's numbers are underwater on pretty much every issue. That's especially true with Hispanic voters."
He explained that it's especially true in Salazar's district.
"There's also the anecdotal [evidence] of what she's hearing and seeing from her voters when she's home, during recesses and so forth. Clearly, those voters are not happy with the direction of the country," Hye said, noting that the issues aren't merely the single-issue of immigration but also on the economy more broadly.
"Again, not just on immigration and ICE and so forth, but on the economy," Hye continued. Those were both key issues for Trump in 2024.
"He was always way above water on the economy and on immigration, and he's underwater on both of those. And it's why you're seeing Republicans talking a little bit more," Hye said.
CNN host John Berman asked if Hye knew what he was hearing about the House Republican leadership regarding what Salazar did.
Hye explained that during the George W. Bush years, Republicans, including those in the White House, were telling GOP candidates to run from Bush if they needed to. That may not be an option for the GOP with Trump.
"The difference between then and now — the poll numbers are sort of similar between Bush and Trump. The difference is Trump. How does Donald Trump react to this ad? How does Donald Trump react to any Republican who crosses him? And that's a real problem for these Republican candidates, as they decide what they need to do to get reelected. If they speak out against Trump, they know that Donald Trump could try and just sweep the rug out from under them."
He called it the "real Sword of Damocles" hanging over the heads of the candidates. "And it's the corner that Republicans have backed themselves into."
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