DeSantis: Republicans denying soaring costs are gaslighting voters

On Election Night, Joe Scarborough pulled out a handwritten list of the controversies surrounding President Trump’s administration this year, from grifting accusations to the Epstein files to Operation Metro Surge, and questioned how Republicans managed to accumulate so many political liabilities in such a short period of time.

“You’ve got the Big Beautiful Bill, you’ve got the slashing of health care, you’ve got tariffs. I still believe that when history books are written, that Minneapolis will be the end. That will be the Pickett’s Charge version of this administration.”

For context, Pickett’s Charge was the disastrous Confederate assault at Gettysburg, a turning point in the Civil War. Scarborough is essentially arguing that Minneapolis could become the defining moment when the political consequences of this administration’s decisions become impossible to reverse.

And voters are feeling the consequences. The Iran War is perhaps one of the clearest examples of the disconnect between Trump’s campaign promises and his governing decisions. Republicans spent considerable time warning voters that a Kamala Harris presidency could drag America into another Middle Eastern conflict. Yet here we are, with Trump overseeing one himself.

According to Axios, Vice President Vance and White House envoy Steve Witkoff are pushing Trump toward a deal , concerned that restarting the war may not meaningfully improve the situation. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly want to resume combat .

And Trump has made little effort to hide how he views the political consequences. “I don’t care about the midterms,” he said in May.

The president essentially told voters that the political fallout is not his concern. The midterms are a referendum on the party in power, and while Trump may not personally be on the ballot, the Republicans who were running and plan to run in the future were certainly concerned.

Yesterday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared on “Straight Shooter” with Stephen A. Smith and told him that Republicans need to start being honest.

“Some of these Republicans, they’re trying to blame Biden for — no, no. Listen, we just got to be honest,” DeSantis said. “Gas is higher. It hurts people, working-class people, and it’s higher because of this conflict. That’s just the fact. If you can’t admit that to voters, then you’re gaslighting them.”

DeSantis is criticizing the messaging and acknowledging that the war is creating real economic consequences for working Americans. And he went further, warning that the conflict could haunt his party down the line: “If it drags on for the rest of his presidency it’s going to be devastating to his ability to get anything done and it is going to be very, very difficult for Republicans in the next cycle.”

This administration has spent considerable political capital defending decisions that are increasingly disconnected from the promises that helped put Republicans in power. The midterm results are a reminder that elections have consequences, even for a president who says he doesn’t care about them. And after a year of controversial decisions, broken expectations and political miscalculations, Trump has created a very expensive bill for his entire party.

Lindsey Granger is a NewsNation contributor and co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising.” This column is an edited transcription of her on-air commentary.