Trump knocked off another Republican. Could his strategy backfire in midterms?
Trump knocked off another Republican. Could his strategy backfire in midterms?
Zac Anderson, USA TODAYWed, May 20, 2026 at 8:39 PM UTC
13
President Donald Trump's success in unseating a Republican congressman from Kentucky who had bucked him demonstrated his dominance in steering the GOP where he wants the party to go.
Yet polls show the president has been leading Republicans into politically perilous territory with the broader electorate, and his demands of absolute loyalty could put GOP lawmakers in a bind as the midterm election approaches with many of the president’s policies proving unpopular.
"This doesn’t play well with swing voters. Most want an independent voice in Congress," retiring Nebraska GOP Congressman Don Bacon told USA TODAY of Trump’s involvement in knocking out Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie. "One can have a totally loyal minority or a majority. I prefer a majority."
Trump's sway with his MAGA base, which has made him such a force in GOP primaries, isn't translating to other key voting groups and his approval ratings have suffered, threating to drag down other Republicans even as he pushes them to get behind him.
Trump's Republican targets fall
Trump targeted Massie for defeat after the lawmaker voted against the president’s signature tax cut legislation last year and pushed to release the government’s files on Jeffrey Epstein. Trump-backed candidate Ed Gallrein defeated Massie by 10 percentage points in the most expensive congressional primary in U.S. history.
The president was deeply involved in the contest, repeatedly slamming Massie in social media posts and public comments leading up the May 19 primary election. Trump touted his primary endorsement record the next day, telling reporters "we won everything."
Massie’s ouster is the latest example of Trump’s long history of purging the party of those he clashes with, such as former Rep. Liz Cheney and former first-term Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, once one of Trump’s closest allies, resigned this year after splitting with him over the Epstein files.
Trump has been active in GOP primaries during the 2026 campaign cycle, helping unseat five Republican state senators in Indiana who opposed him on redistricting and U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, who voted to impeach him. And he is seeking to knock off Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, accusing him of not being supportive enough and endorsing Cornyn's primary opponent, Ken Paxton, who is more aligned with the MAGA base.
Representative Thomas Massie (R‑KY) looks on while speaking to the media after viewing unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files at the Department of Justice office building in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 9, 2026.Some senators disgruntled about Trump's primary involvement
Trump's efforts have upset some Republicans.
"There are a lot of folks in our conference who are disappointed," Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, said after Trump’s endorsement of Paxton.
GOP Senate leadership backed Cornyn, arguing he has a better chance of winning the general election.
The president downplayed GOP concerns about Paxton, telling reporters May 20 that Republican senators will be "alright with it" because "they want to win" and "I know how to win." But the Paxton endorsement is adding to criticism within his own party that Trump is hurting his chances of maintaining a GOP congressional majority by his actions in the primaries.
"It weakens the GOP in the long run" and for November, Bacon said.
The pressure Trump is exerting on Republican lawmakers to fall in line puts them in a difficult position when his policies are unpopular, said Bacon, adding, "That’s how we become the minority."
Advertisement
Mark Bednar, a Republican strategist and former House leadership aide, said Trump’s push to enforce party unity could help the GOP as the election approaches, arguing the "muscle" Trump applied to the primaries will help "build a cohesive coalition."
Bednar said that Republicans need to speak with "one voice" heading into the election.
"An important step to getting to that point is kind of clearing the static and the cobwebs of internal disagreement," he said, arguing Republicans who clash with Trump are a distraction.
President Donald Trump delivers the commencement address to the United States Coast Guard Academy's 2026 graduating class in New London, Connecticut, on May 20, 2026.GOP primary winners need more votes in November
Republicans face a difficult election cycle. They control Congress and the White House, and the party in power typically is at a disadvantage in the midterms. Trump’s low polling numbers also could be a drag on the party.
Massie suggested in his concession speech that the president is not focused on the right issues, highlighting his push to build a White House ballroom.
"While gas is almost $5 and diesel's almost $6 they're talking about this big ballroom they're going to build and it looks like the Roman Empire, architecture from the Roman Empire," Massie said. "I see a few analogies there. And people are just trying to make ends meet."
The president’s approval rating has been dropping amid the Iran war, with just 40% of the overall electorate happy with his job performance, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average. Recent surveys show a majority of voters disapprove of his handling of the economy, cost of living and Iran.
The war has driven up gas prices, which are now at $4.55 for a gallon regular nationwide on average, according to AAA.
Republicans still strongly back Trump, with 83% approving of his job performance in a recent New York Times/Siena poll. But 91% of Democrats and 70% of independents disapprove of the president, according to the survey.
Former Michigan GOP Congressman Fred Upton, who voted to impeach Trump and later endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, told USA TODAY in a text message that GOP candidates in swing districts "for sure are very wary of the 2-edged sword with gas prices headed above $5 and the belief particularly among independents that the country is headed in the wrong direction."
Yet lawmakers who try and distance themselves from Trump are likely to face his wrath, said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
"They’re stuck. There’s nothing they can say, nothing. Whatever Trump says is law," Sabato said.
The president is "insisting that they ford the stream" in backing him unconditionally, he added, but it could turn into "an onrushing river that sweeps them away."
Contributing: Zachary Schermele
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump ousts Thomas Massie. Could strategy backfire in midterms?
Source: “AOL General News”
