Trump Blames Aides as GOP Midterm Hopes Dim

With the November 3 election weeks away, President Donald Trump is blaming senior aides and political operatives for what three people familiar with internal discussions described as a faltering Republican midterm strategy. Voters, meanwhile, tell pollsters they're worried about high prices and unhappy with the economy.

Trump has questioned campaign spending, redistricting and candidate choices. He has also told supporters to act as if he were on the ballot. But according to the account, he has largely avoided acknowledging his own role in shaping the strategy or the effect of his unpopularity on Republicans in competitive races. His approval rating sits at the lowest point of his presidency, weighed down by concern over high prices and dissatisfaction with the Iran war.

A Circular Firing Squad

Much of the friction centers on James Blair, the longtime aide who runs Trump's super PAC MAGA Inc., and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Trump has faulted Blair's handling of campaign funds, while some White House officials and allies have questioned Wiles' oversight of the political operation. Public records show MAGA Inc. has spent $200 million on campaigns so far. One source said it remained unclear whether Trump would approve more spending before the election.

Trump is asking why that money hasn't lifted Republican polling. His advisers, meanwhile, are pointing at one another. Wiles has pointed to Blair, and Blair has faulted the White House legislative affairs team, one person said. “What's really happening is a circular firing squad,” that person said.

The tension spilled into public view after Blair and Chris LaCivita, who co-managed Trump's 2024 campaign, traveled in early October to Republika Srpska, a self-governing region of Bosnia. The New York Times reported that the men received substantial payments to advise the regional government ahead of local elections. In an October 7 Truth Social post, Trump called them “outside consultants” and warned he would “terminate them, immediately!” if he found a conflict of interest. Three people said senior White House officials questioned why Blair was taking lucrative overseas work while he was supposed to oversee the final stretch of the campaign. One person said Wiles approved the trip without informing Trump.

Blair called the criticism “ridiculous, and counterproductive.” LaCivita dismissed “sniping from unnamed cowards who've never been in a fight.” Trump had described Blair's departure as a “short leave of absence,” but two sources said his return now looked unlikely. “He's not coming back. That is not happening,” one said. Trump defended Wiles on Friday, saying she would stay “for a long time.” Spokesman Davis Ingle dismissed the sources as “armchair experts peddling their baseless speculation.”

Redistricting Doubts in Texas

Two sources said Trump pressed aides in the past week to explain why the redistricting effort he personally pushed hadn't produced clearer gains. Texas is a particular worry. Republicans redrew the state's congressional map to pick up seats, partly counting on Hispanic voters to turn out as they did in the 2024 election. Polls suggest cost-of-living concerns and dissatisfaction with Trump's handling of the economy may make that support hard to replicate. Some Republicans fear the new lines could leave incumbents more exposed, not less. “The redistricting diced up the Trump voters too much,” one source said.

NBC News reported that Texas Republicans have grown wary of one another. Gov. Greg Abbott and Senate candidate Ken Paxton have rarely appeared together this fall and don't plan to campaign together in the final weeks.

Democrats Push Into Red and Purple Territory

Polls suggest Democrats will win the House, while the Senate remains too close to call. Democrats are campaigning in red and purple states, with Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among the surrogates hitting the trail.

In Michigan, Ocasio-Cortez gave $1 million to help Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and a source said Sanders transferred $250,000. Democrats had specifically asked Sanders to help in Michigan, where Republicans had heavily outspent the party on the airwaves. “I'm leaving everything I can on the field,” Ocasio-Cortez said Friday.

Pennsylvania offers a preview of the stakes. Trump won the state in 2024, Republicans ousted an entrenched Democratic senator, and it was the only state where Republicans flipped two House seats. The New York Times reported that Trump's support has since crumbled, with Democrats targeting four House districts that together could deliver a congressional majority. The contests span suburbs that have turned blue, fast-growing Hispanic areas that shifted right two years ago, and aging industrial towns where white working-class voters have lost patience with the president's promises. “If Democrats can win every kind of fight there, there is no district safe for Republicans in this moment,” said Jesse Ferguson, a national Democratic strategist involved in House elections.

CNN described Republican Senate candidates in Kansas and South Carolina as reporting shockingly small fundraising numbers. In Georgia, Rep. Mike Collins, the Republican seeking to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff, faces an uphill battle and a substantial financial disadvantage.

The Economy Question

Polls show most Americans are dissatisfied with the economy and frustrated with inflation, with a majority blaming the Trump administration's policies. Trump gave his administration an “A+” on the economy. Vice President JD Vance told CBS News things could take time to improve. “Just as this country wasn't broken in one presidential term, it's gonna take more than 18 months to fix things and turn them around,” he told a Michigan woman whose small business was struggling. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he believes Republicans will keep their House majority despite Democratic momentum.

Why This Matters: Control of the House decides whether anyone can check the executive branch. Losing it would hamper Trump's legislative agenda for the final two years of his term and give Democrats subpoena power to investigate his administration. That's the oversight function the Constitution assigns to Congress, and it's on the line in districts where voters report struggling with prices and doubting promises of quick relief. The reported infighting also shows a political operation consumed by blame while a small business owner in Michigan asks what's being done about her costs. Redistricting fights show how district lines can be drawn to reshape representation, and how that effort may not deliver what its architects expected. Voters, not strategists, will have the final word on November 3.