Right-wing Newsmax gets 'blunt' lesson on Trump’s role in GOP's implosion

It was unfamiliar territory for an entertainment channel that typically reveres President Donald Trump, but Newsmax’s “Wake Up America,” Saturday edition had no choice but to come to terms with Trump’s culpability in the recent Tuesday destruction that bowled Republicans out of their House and Senate majorities.

“[L]ook, I'm going to be blunt here: His demeanor, his focus on things that Americans were not talking about, like arches and ballrooms and, and reflecting pools certainly added to his problem,” said founder and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies, John Zogby, speaking of the Republican rout, and the particularly dramatic flip of the state of Texas blue

Zogby added that as a growing state and a more affordable state than California, Texas had an influx of suburban creative class people who work in the knowledge sector, along with a lot of young people coming in and “making for a new Texas.”

“This was going to happen sooner or later. What it always needed was the right candidate, the right moment. This was the right moment,” said Zogby, but he insisted that “the Republican brand has been hurt all over and it was hurt in Texas.”

Guest speaker Patrick Allocco Founder Zoose Political Index acknowledged that Zogby had accurately predicted the blue wave days earlier, but he was still surprised “how quickly” the blue wave manifested early in the night. He said he was shocked at the rush of the blast as polls closed.

“Early on, we started seeing in House races that were plus 25 plus 30 for Trump, shifting over to, plus 11 and up for the Democrats. And I think the map itself, when we were looking at it, what surprised me the most is that the historical probability going into that night for Democrats to overcome Republican advantages in states like Kansas, Iowa, Texas, of course, Ohio. When you start looking at the probability percentages for Democrats to overcome, and then to watch how quickly that wave swept, that was a surprise for me, said Allocco.

Zogby told “Wake Up America” host Kyle Lowder that the wave an undeniable referendum on the president.

“Americans are not feeling that they're doing well. When we talk about affordability, we're not talking about a meal here or a meal there, or the inability to buy clothes or school supplies. We're talking about people who fear a loss of their middle-class status,” said Zogby. “That's something deeper. That means things are really not going well and that people are frightened,” said Zogby, adding that made promises in 2024, but delivered excuses like “I didn't have enough time,” and “It was Joe Biden's fault.”

At the end of the clip, even host Lowder was confessing to the reality of Trump’s liability.

“It's ... it just seems like it was -- I was speaking to some voters in Maine. I was up there following Senator Collins', you know, watch party and whatnot [where she lost]. It seemed a little patronizing when the president would get up there and talk about, ‘this is the greatest economy we've ever had.’ You know, ‘things are going so well,’ and … Reflecting Pools and arches,” said Lowder.

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