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 Canada , hurting local economies in Maine, upstate New York and Michigan. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is up for reelection, and Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers (R) can’t be happy about that. Perhaps someone in the White House will ask Buffalo area businesses how much traffic has decreased crossing the Peace Bridge from Ontario into Buffalo during the Trump second term.

Trump blames Senate Republicans for not passing his sacred SAVE Act while ignoring the plethora of respected surveys indicating that he is leading Republicans to a significant defeat in November.

A compilation of Senate polls shows Republican candidates trailing or tied in Maine, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Alaska. Iowa is close to joining the list. Consider this: soybeans, fertilizer, tariffs, John Deere. I think you can make some money on FanDuel betting the over on any Democrat running in the farm belt.

It would be helpful if someone in the White House could convince the president that people do not vote on political process issues like repealing the filibuster. Americans vote on issues that affect the economic wellbeing of their family. When voters are focused on finances and their political leadership ignores it, voters will act to change the leadership.

This is what happens when the person in charge always believes that he is the smartest person in the room. Trump has developed a habit of denigrating the fact-based positions of others who disagree with him or offer anything other than praise.

First, President Trump has dismissed affordability issues as a “ hoax ” perpetrated by Democrats and said, “ this is the golden age of America .” He said the USS Lincoln was not deployed long enough in spite of documented supply and morale problems on board. He said Iran no longer had “any spotters,” “anti-aircraft” or “radar” — until they shot down two American jets two days later. He then unilaterally claimed the Strait of Hormuz as “American territory”.

Such utterances from a president evoke President Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 Vietnam credibility gap . In a recent editorial entitled “ Trump’s Iran Credibility Problem ,” The Wall Street Journal called for “more resolve and consistency than Mr. Trump has shown in the past six months.”

Trump’s insistence last year on H.R.1 — the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” — cost Republicans the opportunity to drive a message such as “The Tax Reduction for Working Families Act.” Trump’s version unfortunately polled negatively when it was being debated and still does.

It was Trump, in a shocking display of petulance, who blew up the signing ceremony for the housing bill, denying embattled congressional Republican the opportunity to stand with him amid a sea of red, white and blue and celebrate accomplishing something American families wanted.

My prescription to help Republicans salvage at least a tie in the Senate in the upcoming midterms is for President Trump to sit down, talk a lot less and stay off camera. You and I both know that is never going to happen — not now, and not in 2028.

As we approach 2028, that will be a problem for Vice President JD Vance. At least now, he will not be surprised by what is to come.

Kevin Igoe is the former deputy chief of staff of the Republican National Committee and former executive director of the Maryland Republican Party. He served as chief of staff of the Maryland Department of Budget and Management and was a Reagan White House appointee.