Republican unease with President Donald Trump has spread beyond swing-district lawmakers fighting for their political lives.
Senators from some of the country’s most reliably red states are now openly challenging him on the economy, the Iran war and more, according to a new report from The Washington Sun.
Trump’s approval rating keeps sliding, and now the 80-year-old president is preparing to hold rallies in solidly Republican Oklahoma and Alabama in the coming weeks, possibly a sign the White House may be nervous about his own turf.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), whose state Trump carried by 22 points in 2024, said he won’t spin voters about rising prices.
“I’m not going to tell the voters, ‘Oh, it’s President Biden’s fault, and it’s not that bad, you shouldn’t believe your checkbooks,’” Kennedy told reporters. He later told the Sun that “the main reason for the resurgence in inflation is the Iran war.”
Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) represents a state Trump won by more than 40 points and isn’t up for re-election until 2031, and he pointed to soaring fuel and grocery costs and said Republicans have fumbled their message on the war.
“We knew that there was a real chance that it would drive gasoline and diesel and fertilizer and all that kind of stuff,” Justice said. “We knew that and everything, but we never really dreamed we’d be there this long.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) objected to a series of Trump ads that appear to have been funded by taxpayers, while fellow South Dakotan Sen. Mike Rounds also criticized the TV spots, and he went on to criticize a clawback of nearly $1 billion in congressionally approved funds and Trump’s order temporarily expanding foreign beef imports.
Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to look into a Russian oligarch’s payment for part of Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding festivities.
“To me, it just stinks. It’s corruption. I don’t like it,” Curtis said in a video.
The GOP and its allies are also spending heavily to hold Senate seats in Alaska, Ohio and Texas – all states Trump won by double digits.
“The trend downwards is very clear,” University of Maryland government professor David Karol told the Sun. He said Trump’s weakening position makes Republicans “feel more free to separate themselves” from his least popular moves.
Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) cautioned that most Republicans still vote with Trump, but he welcomed the independent streak. He told the Sun that “having that image of independence going into this election is critically important to getting Republicans reelected.”
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