Journalist Mark Halperin sounded the alarm for Republicans on Friday, warning in a post on X that the “wheels are coming off the Trump White House.”
The lengthy post, an excerpt from Halperin’s Wide World of News Concierge Coverage Substack, was aimed squarely at Republicans. And for anyone looking for evidence, Halperin laid out a series of examples.
First on his list was a new taxpayer-funded TV ad featuring the president. Halperin described the ad as blatantly political and argued it is as obviously illegal as it is appalling, adding that many Republicans he has heard from share that view.
He also questioned the president’s travel plans ahead of the midterms, noting Trump is considering spending one of his days on the road between now and Election Day in Alabama, a choice Halperin met with open disbelief.
Halperin warned that Florida and Kansas are among the many Republican-leaning places that have sprung electoral leaks that will need to be plugged, and quickly.
The White House’s media ban also drew his criticism. Halperin said the move is widely seen as stupid, ill-advised, doomed and counterproductive, and not just by Peter Baker. He said that view is shared by many of his pro-Trump Republican sources as well.
Next, Halperin took aim at the diesel export ban, calling it a self-inflicted failure on at least three levels. He argued there is now no easy answer or path out of either the political expectations or the policy messes it has created.
Finally, he pointed to renewed rumors that MAGA Inc. will not spend down its cash reserves to help Republican candidates. According to Halperin, those rumors have set off a round of finger-pointing and frustration.
Halperin also zeroed in on the president’s standing with voters.
“Mr. Trump’s approval ratings are in the toilet, fueled by lost support from key groups like young men, women, Hispanics, and independents,” Halperin wrote.
The journalist did acknowledge that plenty of GOP candidates are still likely to win their races. But he stood by his broader warning about the direction of the White House heading into Election Day.
“But as I sift through my inboxes and social media feeds over the most recent extended news cycle, what I see instead is the possibilities that the wheels are coming off for a political figure who is swimming against the tide of a Blue tsunami as big as Connecticut, not because Ken Martin is suddenly a genius, but because an unpopular war and high consumer prices is no way to win a midterm election,” he wrote.
Taken together, Halperin’s list painted a picture of a White House juggling a string of controversies at a critical moment. From a contested taxpayer-funded ad and questionable travel choices to the media ban, the diesel export ban and uncertainty over MAGA Inc.’s spending, he argued the problems are piling up.
His bottom line for Republicans was clear: with low approval ratings, an unpopular war and high consumer prices, the party faces a difficult path as the midterm elections draw closer.
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