Trump’s grip on the GOP deepens as he backs Paxton
Donald Trump doubled down on his Senate endorsement by praising Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. He called Paxton’s runoff victory “a prelude” for success in the November midterms and pledged to hold “some nice, big, beautiful rallies for Ken. Texas, this will be FUN!” The president also insisted that concerns about the upcoming elections are irrelevant to his foreign‑policy agenda, saying, “They thought they were going to out‑wait me. You know, ’We’ll out‑wait him. He’s got the midterms,’ I don’t care about the midterms.”
Republican operative David Urban, a known Trump ally, acknowledged that the president’s singular focus on the Iran conflict could make the fall election fight harder for the party. “You do not want to give the Iranians a win just because of the midterms,” Urban warned, emphasizing the diplomatic stakes and the potential impact on domestic politics.
Democratic strategists see an opening in the president’s rhetoric. “The administration has utterly failed to do this,” said Republican strategist Rick Tyler, a Trump critic, while Democratic spokesperson Viet Shelton noted that Trump’s statements on the economy and his handling of the Iran war provide fresh material for ads that could sway swing voters. Shelton said Democrats will spotlight how “tariffs have hurt the farm economy and how the war in Iran has driven up diesel and fertilizer prices” in key districts.
Economic concerns are already resonating with voters. The broader U‑6 unemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers and part‑time employees who want full‑time work, stands at 8.2%, a figure that highlights the financial pressure many Americans are feeling. Republican leaders have struggled to articulate a clear economic message, and the lack of a cohesive plan has left GOP candidates scrambling for talking points.
Mike Marinella of the National Republican Congressional Committee said Trump’s backing “puts House Republicans in the strongest possible position to defy history and win in November,” but he also acknowledged that the party must still navigate the fallout from Trump’s trade policies and the ongoing Iran war, both of which have contributed to higher gas prices and tighter margins for American consumers.