Keeping up with politics can be a stressful endeavor and that stress can manifest an apathy that might inspire a lot of American voters to stay home and show their disgust by not voting. Usually, the group that is most inspired by the thought of change will show up to vote in greater numbers and this is what should be haunting the Republicans.
Donald Trump has been on a mission of revenge against the media and anyone who dares to publicly disagree with him. But President Trump’s support is so far down in the polls that Republican candidates in tight races - even in red states - are breaking with Trump out of fear that continuing to support Trump’s path of revenge, threats, and his almost comical nonsensical behavior will lead to a rejection of the voters.
Candidates must respond to voters in order to get elected and there is a 360 degree idea that President Trump has gone too far and in doing so has even motivated questions about his health and mental state of mind. Trump’s obsession with the Reflecting Pool and blaming the wrong - and fictional - person for harming the pool have made it seem as if the president cared more about the damn Reflecting Pool than the war with Iran - which President Trump started.
Sen. John Kennedy - a strong MAGA Republican from Louisiana - has most recently been attacking Trump on his TV advertisement about himself. Possessing what appears to be a lost narcissistic mind - President Trump has personally caused his approval ratings to continue to drop to the point where his new level of unpopularity sends a harsh chill down the spine of every Republican who is trying to determine whether they should embrace Trump - or distance themselves from him.
Trump was once the unequivocal leader of the Republican Party - but with Trump’s questionable actions - like demanding that his name be on a building and then talking about tearing the historic building down if he doesn’t get his way. Or the newly released TV commercials that the president released Monday which does nothing but promote the president personally - rather than represent the Republicans running in the midterm elections.
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana - a staunch Trump supporter - condemned the president’s new commercial saying, “I don’t think any public official, including President Trump, or Kristi Noem, or John Kennedy, should spend public money on private ads for themselves.”
President Trump’s new ad is a 30-second ad shot in black and white with a stern look on the president’s face as he strolls down a hallway with audio from a speech.
Here is the transcription of the audio from the ad:
“This is the final battle. With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers from our government. We will drive out the globalists. We will cast out the communist, Marxists and fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media. And we will liberate America from these villains once and for all.”
The ad is very much like a campaign ad Trump ran in 2024 - but the president is not on the ballot and this ad appears to serve the purpose of feeding the president’s massive ego.
You and I paid for that ad and that’s why the criticism is so vicious - even with many Republicans reacting negatively. The White House says the ad is a public service announcement about how Americans should love their country and be prepared to support backing any threats. The ad was described as “educational and unapologetically patriotic.”
But the problem is that the ad is about President Trump and not about the midterm elections. The ad does not address any of the factors as to why so many Americans are expressing discontent with Trump and the Republican Party. The ad feeds the insatiable appetite of Trump’s ego and that’s all it does.
Things like this ad that are causing Americans to see through the president’s self-centered facade and realize that he is the only focus in his universe. Americans are also coming to the realization that the president has a problem with the truth and that he lies when he doesn’t even have to. Trump keeps trying to sell the idea that he is responsible for the largest tax cuts in history. Not true. President Reagan gave the largest tax cuts in history in 1981.
The war with Iran and the economy affected mostly by the war with Iran have caused many Americans - even Republicans to turn the corner on this president. As the polls continue to show Trump’s approval rating in the toilet - breaking with the president is now seen as the only way to win in the midterms.
Another factor that does not get discussed is the reality that politics has become so intense and confusing that I wonder if many Americans are losing their interest in the whole process. The landscape of politics today is littered with lies and misinformation that “political fatigue” is setting in. The need to actually escape politics rather than engage in politics may cause many people to reject the process and stay home on Election Day. The political news is different everyday - but it’s the same BS and there comes a time when the need to escape becomes stronger than the need to engage.
Can the polls be trusted? There’s no guarantee that the polls accurately reflect the sentiment of voters and the “blue tsunami” that’s being predicted by some may not come to pass. But the winners will be determined by the group that gets out the vote.
Here are the key questions: Will Republicans - who are disgusted with President Trump - just not vote because they can’t bring themselves to vote for a Democrat even if they don’t like the Republican candidate? Will Democrats, Independents, and moderate Republicans show up because of their strong desire to want change?
Generally, the desire for change is a powerful motivating factor in elections and right now, the desire for change and a break from the status quo is a strong current running through the political stream. With the polls showing the president so far down - he could become the wounded animal who feels trapped in a corner and may act out in ways that only enhance the image that something is not right with the president - and that will motivate voters to vote against Republicans.
