U.S President Donald Trump reacts while speaking on stage during the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas, U.S., September 9, 2026.
On Thursday, Fox News warned its conservative viewers that there is a clear sign President Donald Trump is “worried” that his agenda is in “real trouble.” According to longtime Fox financial analyst Stuart Varney, the president’s frantic campaign schedule suggests that he knows the GOP majority is “at stake" – if it's not lost already.
“The president's doing a rally a day, sometimes two,” explained Varney. “He's been appearing in red states – that implies he's worried about the turnout.” Varney was alluding to the fact that Trump’s campaign schedule has him focusing on states and districts once thought safely Republican, touring the likes of firmly Republican-held Oklahoma and Alabama as well as surprise toss-ups in Texas and Kansas, while he and the GOP commit less and less time and resources to places like North Carolina. As Varney and others have noted, this implies that Trump and his party are aware of the coming losses and desperate to shore up support wherever they can. “He's pulling out all the stops,” said Varney. “He didn't get back from Montana until four o'clock this morning. He'll do several tele-rallies today. He'll be in Georgia tomorrow. The pressure is on.”
According to Varney, “Fox Power rankings suggest the House is very likely to go Democrat. The Senate is a toss-up. The latest Fox poll shows 54 percent prefer Democrat candidates, 45 percent Republicans, and the lead by the Democrats is widening. Worse, voters are very unhappy with inflation – increasingly unhappy. 77 percent disapprove of his policy, only 22 percent think he's doing an OK job. That's a massive gap.” His warning to Republicans comes as a new Fox poll released Wednesday revealed that Trump’s approval has plunged to the network’s lowest on record, cratering to 36 percent. 60 percent of voters declared cost of living their top concern, with the majority predicting things will get worse. On top of that, a majority of Americans disapprove of his handling of foreign policy and even immigration. The decline has come as Trump has lost voters under age 45, those with annual household income below $50,000, non-White voters, and those without a college degree.
And as Varney suggested, the numbers make it clear that a midterm reckoning is coming. According to Fox, 7 in 10 say they will vote to send a message to Trump, with nearly twice as many expressing opposition (47 percent) as support (25 percent). Democrats not only lead on a generic House ballot, but have expanded that lead over the past month. What’s more, the poll found that Democrats lead on 10 out of 13 issue concerns, including healthcare, inflation, gas prices, election integrity, government corruption, AI, foreign policy, and more. “The issue that helps explain the Democrats’ advantage isn’t an issue at all," noted Fox. "By a 14-point margin, more voters think the Democrats will do a better job ‘fighting for people like you.’"
As a result of all of this, explained Varney, Trump is now desperately campaigning for toss-up and losing candidates in places he won handily two years ago. “This is intense politics, and so it should be,” Varney concluded with a warning to his fellow conservatives. “At stake is the Republican control of Congress. Lose it, and Trump's agenda is in real trouble.”
