Trumpisms are the Republicans’ biggest messaging problem

As we approach the 2026 midterms, one thing is absolutely clear. Republicans are in serious trouble. With each passing week, their prospects worsen. The one constant in this worsening picture is President Trump’s dominance of the Republican messaging machine. 

I know my MAGA diehard friends are going to say that Trump is the best messenger ever. That is true — if you are willing to settle for 33 percent of the electorate. If you actually want to win an election that is a referendum on Trump’s presidency, I suggest you get him off camera and take his phone away.

Trump’s incessant comments about issues voters do not care about is an anchor around the neck of Republicans running in anything resembling a competitive district or state. Webster’s could define whiplash as an injury inflicted on anyone who attempts to follow Trump’s weekly policy reversals.

For my MAGA friends, it is time to understand that Trump’s gut does not rule the world. As we approach the midpoint of his second term presidency it is more than disconcerting to watch the president idle away news cycles doodling on his plans for a White House ballroom or a redesign of Dulles Airport. The president has reverted to his days as a developer, a profession in which progress is defined as moving dirt. 

That is not how hardworking American families define progress. Those families are struggling over a legal pad penciled in dollar signs trying to figure out if they have enough money to take the kids out for pizza on Friday night.

And Trump does what? He threatens Oman, our ally. He launches an economic attack on........

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