Trump administration scandals suck up oxygen as Dems seek midterm advantage

Scandals rocking President Trump’s orbit are taking center stage ahead of the midterms as Democrats look for fresh ways to tie their Republican opponents to the president.

Last week, a report surfaced indicating Trump’s ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, privately solicited cash to pay down her debts ahead of her confirmation hearing.

Meanwhile, separate reporting noted Trump’s longtime campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and James Blair traveled to the Balkans to advise a pro-Russian political party and made hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Trump told reporters on Monday that he is “looking at” firing Guilfoyle and that he was not happy with her. Last week, he addressed the fallout surrounding Blair and LaCivita’s travel, saying in a TruthSocial post that he would terminate the two if there were any wrongdoing.

Still, Democrats say the reports have aided them in painting Republicans as out of touch in an election hinged on affordability.

“Voters understand that it’s not just that the cost of living has gone up dramatically for them. They understand that it’s gone up dramatically for them and that the administration is prioritizing tax breaks for the wealthy and building ballrooms and building arches and getting rich off of crypto,” said Matt Corridoni, a Democratic operative working with the groups Majority Democrats and The Bench.

Democrats have cited a number of conflict of interest allegations against Trump and those in his orbit.

Ties to his family’s cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial, which he and his sons founded in the fall of 2024 when he was running for president, have drawn particular scrutiny. Financial disclosures show Trump raked in over $500 million from the venture, although the firm has said it has been set up to prevent the Trump family from being involved in the bank while Trump is in the White House.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released last month found that 69 percent of all adults surveyed said they believed Trump’s businesses influence his decisions as president, including 48 percent of Republicans. Further, 63 percent of respondents said it was inappropriate for Trump and his family to have profited from cryptocurrency.

The president’s critics have also accused the White House ballroom of being a pay-to-play scheme. Trump has received criticism for accepting the Qatari gifted VC-25B Bridge, which is being used as the interim Air Force One, since the deal was announced earlier this term.

Democrats have also used Trump’s ties to the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to paint their Republican opponents in a negative light.

“The corruption story and the abandonment of working people is sort of the central argument that Democrats are making,” said Simon Rosenberg, a Democratic strategist.

“And so every time that there is something that confirms that, it hurts Republicans because it just reinforces one of the central stories that Democrats are telling about the Republican Party,” he continued. “Any additional confirmation of that that’s coming in the national news weakens and hurts the Republicans on the ground.”

Democrats have broadly used the claims against Trump and those around him to paint a picture of a corrupt, Republican-run Washington that is out of touch with the concerns of voters.

“People also are not stupid,” said one Democratic strategist. “When they’re struggling, they’re looking at who is gaining, right?”

“That’s when you sort of peel back the layers and say, ‘Oh it’s these people in office who are benefitting themselves or who are using different things within their power to pass laws to make things easier for them,’” the strategist continued.

The issues took true center stage at midterm debates across the country last week, with Democratic candidates seeking to put their Republican opponents on the defensive.

“The reality is we have a corruption crisis in this country and it is leading to an affordability crisis,” said Iowa Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek, accusing his Republican opponent, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), and others of using their positions to become wealthier.

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) responded to the allegations against Guilfoyle, telling MS NOW that Democratic majorities in Congress were needed to conduct investigations into the matter.

“I think you can rest assured that there will be a focus on congressional oversight, provided we do everything we need to do and regain the majorities necessary to hold this administration accountable,” Ossoff, who is running for reelection in Georgia, told the network.

“We need to plan vigorous oversight efforts, but right now, we need to be relentlessly focused on the imperative of victory,” he continued.

Over the course of his reelection campaign, Ossoff has hammered Trump directly over corruption. Ossoff accused his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), of “robbing your constituents to subsidize your donors” during their debate last week.

Corridoni noted a similar issue came up while he was on the campaign trail with Montana Democratic congressional candidate Sam Forstagover the weekend.

“People were bringing up corruption as it relates to cost of living issues,” Corridoni recounted. “The bipartisan audience there was bringing up cuts to health care, the cost of gas, and that they knew this was happening to them while politicians were benefitting from it.”

Republicans have hit back at Democrats, arguing their party has its own corruption issues to tackle.

“Democrats love to lecture voters on corruption, but they have no issue taking millions of dollars from shady billionaires and opposing a congressional stock trading ban to pad their own pockets,” said Natalie Baldassarre, national press secretary at the Republican National Committee.

“Republicans are the only party that has cut taxes, put workers first, and created thousands of American jobs. Democrats will reverse all these achievements on day one and then get mad when prices rise and more jobs disappear,” she continued.

Rosenberg predicted the battle over corruption would become “a central legislative and oversight fight” if Democrats regain majorities on Capitol Hill.

“They’re [Democrats] are going to have to pass and change the system based on how they’ve campaigned,” he said.