Ex-Trump official slams Trump endorsements: He 'just made the midterms a lot harder'

On Tuesday, GOP primaries in Texas, Louisiana and Kentucky resulted in wins for candidates endorsed by President Donald Trump, garnering him triumph over three Republican congressional leaders who had drawn his ire. While Trump is celebrating the victory, political commentators like Alyssa Farah Griffen — who served as the White House Communications Director during his first term — are saying that the president’s win today has made the midterms “a lot harder for Republicans” in November.

Appearing on CNN on Wednesday, Farah Griffen explained that Trump is “absolutely the dominant force when it comes to the Republican base and Republican primaries,” referencing the fact that his endorsement has consistently proven its power to unseat incumbent opponents in primary races. But, she warned, “he has a much shakier record when it comes to picking primary candidates who can go on to win a general election. I want to remind you of a few names: Kari Lake, Doug Mastriano, Blake Masters, Mehmet Oz, Herschel Walker, Adam Laxalt, Tudor Dixon” — all of whom won primaries under Trump’s blessing only to lose in the general.

“I worry Ken Paxton might be the next name on that list,” she said, referencing the Trump-backed Texas senatorial candidate, who unseated incumbent John Cornyn (R-TX). “This is not who the party wanted. It's not who Senate leadership wanted. It's not who Texas Republicans wanted.”

And according to Farah Griffen, Tuesday’s results bring “a bad moment for Republicans heading into the midterms. While the president can claim objective victory in defeating Thomas Massie (R-KY), the party is in much shakier footing.”

She pointed to the Texas race, noting that Trump-backed Ken Paxton is not as competitive against the popular Democratic challenger James Talarico. While she expressed skepticism that Democrats can turn the state blue, “think of the places that Republicans want to be spending money: North Carolina, Maine, Georgia — races that are really must-win for Republicans. Now, resources are going to have to be diverted to Texas because this is way more competitive than with John Cornyn, the number two in the Senate, one of the most beloved Republicans, who is loved statewide. That would have been the obvious place to go. But Donald Trump likes to Donald Trump.”

When asked why Trump would back Paxton against all electoral logic, Farah Griffen had a straightforward explanation: “He was with [Trump] after January 6th. Cornyn wasn't really. This comes down to loyalty. But he just made the midterms a lot harder for the party, but also for himself. He's going to have to face oversight.”

The CNN host then cited a Wednesday report by Politico’s Dasha Burns, in which she quoted one senior Republican operative who said, “Those so-called victories over the last couple weeks are just a mirage. They are self-owns. We’re not actually beating Democrats, and we’re not actually advancing legislation. Instead, gas is up 45 percent due to our actions and the President’s decision to go to war with Iran. He’s focused on the ballroom. He’s announced a $1.8 billion restitution fund with zero details or congressional authority to do so. It just is crazy.”

So what would Trump’s response be to assertions like this?

“Fake news, the gas prices aren’t up,” Farah Griffen ventured. “I think this is an information gap with the president. I'm not convinced that he's getting real economic data about how much this war is hurting Americans. I'm not convinced that he's seeing Harry Enten data about how unpopular the Iran war is. He would be trying to sell this war harder if he really had the information on how unpopular it is. He watches his Fox News. He gets an idea of how things are. But I think he really thinks the country is with him on Iran, and he thinks that he's going to be able to fix this by summertime. The rest of us are a lot more skeptical. You're talking about $5 and $6 a gallon going into summer travel. It's the worst place that Republicans want to be heading into the midterms.”

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