President Donald Trump is not one to take a slight from a fellow Republican lightly.
He successfully ousted Republicans he deemed not sufficiently loyal by endorsing primary challenges against Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). But he notably refrained from social media diatribes against the growing number of Republicans who are putting daylight between his administration.
Over the past two weeks, multiple Republicans have publicly broken with Trump over the Iran war, immigration, and his honoring of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump hasn’t gone nuclear on them, an indication that he understands the necessity for Republicans to distance themselves in the face of a difficult political environment.
Republican Iowa Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn, both of whom are in closely contested races, called for an end to the war in Iran, as the public’s anger over rising gas and diesel prices could cost the GOP control of the House and Senate.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) wrote a Washington Post op-ed on Friday criticizing the Trump administration’s deportation of nonviolent illegal immigrants, saying it has led to hardworking illegal immigrants leaving the country.
“According to ICE’s own numbers, people with no criminal conviction and with only an immigration violation and no other pending charge are now the single largest group the agency holds in detention,” he wrote. “That should worry anyone who believes that enforcement ought to focus on actual threats to public safety.”
Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) previously released a campaign ad where she addressed Trump by name while staring directly into the camera and telling him, “Some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far.” She also warned Trump that detaining nonviolent immigrants would hurt the GOP in the midterm elections.
In past times, Trump may have responded by calling for political consequences, but his political leash has been notably longer recently.
Trump responded by telling reporters that “She got a little bit soft on the border. I understand that. I understand that. But I just don’t happen to be there.”
It was a notable departure from his penchant for derogatory nicknames or angry posts on Truth Social, potentially a sign the president realizes the stakes just six weeks from the midterm elections.
This week, Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS) took to the Senate floor to voice his displeasure with Jinping’s visit to the U.S. “Quite frankly, had the White House asked me for advice, I would’ve suggested the president not invite Xi Jinping to Washington for such a lavish welcome,” Wicker said.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday shows Trump at a 32% approval rating, a flashing warning sign that Democrats could have a blowout midterm night. Prominent Republican allies like Steve Deace are publicly warning that the Iran war fallout could drag down the GOP. “Whatever we’re doing or not doing in Iran/Hormuz has become a 2020 Covid lockdown level of political albatross,” he wrote on X.
Republicans are taking notice.
Sen. John Curtis (R-UT), who is not up for reelection, wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee urging an investigation of Donald Trump Jr., after ProPublica reported that a Russian oligarch helped fund celebrations tied to his wedding. Michigan GOP candidate Mike Rogers distanced himself from the Iran war in his bid to defeat Democrat Abdul el Sayed for the open Senate seat.
Those close to Trump wouldn’t characterize the breaks as disloyalty, though.
A person familiar with the White House’s thinking told the Washington Examiner that “candidates will call the White House and ask how to do it when they want to stake out a position that might be different from the President’s, because they don’t want to go against President Trump.”
“The President understands the environment,” the source said. “He gets that these people are fighting alongside him more than people credit them for.”
A second Republican close to the White House and familiar with the administration’s approach to the midterm elections told the Washington Examiner that “just because a candidate is breaking with the president on one or two issues, doesn’t mean they’re not behind him and his agenda.”
Across the GOP, candidates are being encouraged to run the race that will lead to victory, irrespective of what Trump is doing in Washington.
“Obviously, we care about winning, and a candidate or a Republican who is with the president 90% of the time is going to be better than any Democrat that would ever be elected in these seats,” the source said. “The White House political operation understands when candidates need to break on certain issues for their districts, for their races.”
Matt Dole, an Ohio Republican strategist, also told the Washington Examiner that Trump’s willingness to tolerate public distancing from Republicans is an indication of wanting the GOP to retain power. But after the midterm elections, Trump will be in legacy mode as his second administration winds down.
“I don’t think what we’re seeing right now is what we will see after the election,” Dole said. “The president will stake a claim to his legacy after the election and aggressively push back on Republicans that, I think even more openly than what’s happening right now, start to build distance between themselves and the president.”
“The most interesting period for Republicans is going to be after this election when Trump is truly a lame duck,” Dole said.