Illustration by Michael DiMilo
By Geoff Carter
Last week, Florida Representative Maria Elvira Salazar broke ranks with the Republican ranks by airing a television ad critical of Trump’s deportation policies. Speaking directly to the camera, she said “Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far,” warning him that Hispanic voters who supported him in 2024 “feel betrayed today”. She did hedge her bets, however, shifting the blame for the draconian deportation policies onto his advisors.
In Kansas, Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson skipped a campaign event with Vice-president J.D. Vance, citing a previous commitment. Vance had traveled there to campaign for her and other Republican candidates like gubernatorial candidate Ty Hinson and Senate candidate Roger Marshall. Apparently, Ms. Hinson believes a successful campaign depends more upon highlighting her bipartisanship than cozying up to members of the Trump administration.
In Maine, beleaguered Republican Senate candidate Susan Collins skipped another event hosted by Vice-president Vance, citing scheduling conflicts, but Trump’s trade war with Canada has hurt Maine industries and Collins—wisely—seems to want to distance herself from the administration.
In a political environment that is daily becoming increasingly toxic for Republicans, more and more candidates struggling to stay afloat in the midterms are distancing themselves from the Trump White House.
The disastrous war in Iran, Trump’s infinite and shameless corruption, skyrocketing gas and food prices, the deployment of ICE and its draconian deportation policies, the dismantling of our federal government, the Epstein files, and, finally, in his latest tone-deaf declaration, his whole-hearted endorsement of a full-throttle approval of AI and the construction of new data centers have resulted in rock-bottom poll numbers for the president. Add to this laundry list of crimes and misdemeanors his Big Beautiful Bill which slashed Medicaid and health insurance for millions, and you end up with a president whose approval ratings in the toilet.
The midterm election, always a difficult election cycle for the incumbent party, is looking to be an absolute bloodbath for Republicans. According to a recent NBC News Poll, 56% of registered voters disapprove of Trump’s job performance. 55% of those disapprove of the president’s handling of the economy, which was one of the strengths of his 2024 campaign. And even though Trump is attempting to sell himself as an asset for Republicans in the midterms, 52% of voters in the NBC poll say they are less like to support a Trump-endorsed candidate—a fact that is not lost on the candidates.
This appears to be—finally—the tipping point for Republican support of one of the most indecent, corrupt, amoral, and incompetent presidents in U.S. history.
It took a while. The Republican mainstream has tolerated a lot from this man.
They didn’t mind the fact he was a convicted felon, or that he was found liable in a civil suit for sexual assault.
They didn’t mind that he has reached out to white supremacists like The Proud Boys, asking them “to stand by” and recruiting them for the January 6th riot.
They didn’t mind that he has cozied up to authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin while alienating our NATO allies by imposing punitive and senseless tariffs on our trading partners.
They didn’t mind when ICE thugs who have wantonly kidnapped citizens—including children–from our streets and who have shot and killed innocent citizens.
They didn’t mind when DOGE dismantled government agencies and made off with Social Security data.
They didn’t mind when he tore down the East Wing of the White House, wrecked the Reflecting Pool, and paved over the Rose Garden and threatened to demolish the Kennedy Center because he couldn’t put his name on it.
They didn’t mind when he instigated the invasion of the Capitol Building on January 6th, a blatant coup attempt that very nearly succeeded, and didn’t seem to mind much when the mob went hunting for Nancy Pelosi, Mike Pence, and other politicos.
Nope. They didn’t mind then, but they mind now. Why now? Because they’re worried that they might lose their jobs. Apparently, all the campaign rhetoric about freedom, love of country, American exceptionalism, and personal rights (particularly the right to bear arms) doesn’t mean much if they’re not running for office. Neither does their pledge to uphold the Constitution, to “form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”. Just look at their record.
Their Big Beautiful Bill cut Medicaid and health insurance subsidies for millions of Americans. The war in Iran has severely depleted the resources of our armed forces. The SAVE Act would disenfranchise hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of voters. Trump’s deportation policies have resulted in the arrest, abuse, imprisonment, and murder of thousands of U.S. citizens. Congressional Republicans have done nothing to get in the way of these disastrous policies. Trump and the Republicans have done everything in their power to subvert and destroy the Constitution.
It doesn’t help that Project 2025, the far-right conservative blueprint designed to explicitly dismantle the American democracy, is leading our president by the nose. Trump is doing everything they want. His establishment of DOGE, the destruction of the Department of Education, the takeover of the Department of Justice and the FBI, his appointment of criminally underqualified Cabinet members sharing the misogynistic and racist vision of Project 2025, and his expansion of ICE have all been done to support this regressive far-right vision.
As these Republicans have tried to distance themselves from the White House, it’s become apparent that it’s not only Project 2025 or Trump that has destroyed the traditional Republican Party. It’s the political system itself. Lobbyists, donors, and corporate sponsorship have bought the American electorate’s voice in Washington, and Democrats are just as guilty as Republicans in using the perks of their office to enrich themselves rather than serve the American people.
Over fifty percent of congressional members are millionaires. Some come in as millionaires, but most of them make more money while in office—and by staying in office. Book royalties, hitting the lecture circuit, and teaching are a few of the ways these politicians line their pockets, but the most egregious is stock trading.
According to Common Cause, in December of last year, “202 Representatives and 56 Senators, both Democrats and Republicans, own stock. At the time this article was published, Congress members had made 13,324 trades totaling a whopping $635.57 million this year.” Whether or not these politcos are using inside information, to which many have access, is not clear. After leaving Congress, many former members become lobbyists or Washington consultants.
The bottom line is that our entire political system is wound up tightly in corporate culture, the stock market, and the interests of the ultra-wealthy. While there are exceptions like AOC, Bernie Sanders, and a few others, garnering and maintaining wealth and status seems to be a congressman’s prime directive.
Project 2025 was the brainchild of, among others, the Heritage Foundation, backed by the billionaire Koch brothers. Silicon Valley tech moguls like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sam Altman have close affiliations with the Trump administration.
Apparently, upholding American values, defending the Constitution, and improving the lives of your electorate is less important than holding onto a lucrative position in Congress. While this has perhaps only been partly true in the past, it is painfully apparent that this present iteration of the Republican Party cares nothing about their electorate or the American people. They’ve neither passed legislation beneficial to the masses nor tried to stop a rogue president bent on destroying our democracy and our capital.
It’s something of a relief to see backlash against the monster in the Oval Office, but the fact that the Republican tipping point against Trump seems to be the threat of them losing their seats in Congress in the 2026 midterms speaks volumes about their own integrity and desire to defend our Constitution.
It’s time to clean up Congress. Term limits, strict laws against stock trading while in office, and transparent election funding procedures would be a start.
Notes
- https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/09/17/congress/maria-elvira-salazar-trump-immigration-01081970
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/vance-embarrassed-republican-candidate-snub-194319908.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADcXsdturg9q5APvmLAHPEC_TPQtQ4erM-mzYl87Xl9LQnY6itFKthCL50pvLedaxVgYkxP-46RorvSeiADcTbte28haHCy3T9557V5y1fMoYU9mtHIQtFse065fHHBbWW6LBKY99lg8W1E9aTJiUtmu-Gjc-L8rNojJM6c1Zmku
- https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/preamble/
- https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/poll-voters-say-trump-hurt-economy-competitive-midterm-election-looms-rcna597868
- https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/08/24/politics/state-politics/brewer-maine-susan-collins-jd-vance-speech-no-attendance/
- https://www.ms.now/news/vance-susan-collins-trump-maine-senate
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