Trump becoming major liability for Republicans in midterms, new poll shows

President Donald Trump is becoming a major liability for Republican candidates in the upcoming midterms, as dire predictions about the opposition sweeping the House and Senate continue to mount, according to a new poll. Research by The Financial Times/Focaldata found that 46 percent of people felt that Trump’s record in the White House since returning to power in January 2025 had made it “harder” for conservatives to win their election races come November 3. A majority of Democrats and independents agreed with that statement but, more damningly, so did 30 percent of Republican voters, or almost a third. Conversely, only 26 percent of that demographic said Trump’s record had made it “easier” for the GOP’s nominees to win out.The same polling also found that 43 percent of people overall felt an endorsement from the president was likely to do a Republican candidate more harm than good.While only 13 percent of conservatives thought that was true (compared to 69 percent of Democrats), only 48 percent of those on the right believed a nod from the president would prove helpful, or less than half.President Donald Trump is becoming a major liability for Republicans ahead of the midterms, a new poll has found (Getty)The newspaper’s data also put Trump’s overall approval rating at just 33 percent, broadly consistent with many other recent polls, with even Republicans marking him down from the 80 percent support he enjoyed when his second term began to just 72 percent, meaning only three in four are happy. The potential harm done by association with the president also appears to be keenly felt by the candidates, some of whom have reportedly begun quietly removing references to Trump from their campaign websites while others have frankly told his team they do not want him cheerleading in their district. “We’ve told them he cannot come,” a senior Republican working on a competitive House race told Politico Friday. “Candidly, he would not be helpful here.”One House GOP competitor described the guidance they had received from pollsters and operatives in even blunter terms: “You’re f***ed if you mention him too much, and you’re also f***ed if you don’t stay in his good graces.”At least 45 congressional Republicans – and first lady Melania Trump – will not be attending the president’s two-day midterms conference in Dallas, Texas, this week have already made their excuses.A variety of explanations were offered, from “prior obligations” such as attending weddings, touring colleges with their teenage daughters and going dove hunting to arguing that their time would be better spent campaigning in their districts.Some frankly balked at the $25,000 entrance fee they are expected to stump up to get a seat at the American Airlines Center. One unnamed Republican called the unorthodox convention “a waste of time” and told Politico: “You shouldn’t be having to rally your base at this point. You should be trying to convince independents.”Trump is hosting a two-day midterms conference in Dallas, Texas, this week that a number of Republicans have cried off attending (Reuters)Michigan Rep. Tom Barrett meanwhile expressed concern about what Trump might actually say: “I can’t control what the president’s going to say at the convention, but I can control where I’m at, what I’m doing”The president has twice caused chagrin among conservatives on that score in recent days, first by referring to his deeply unpopular Iran war as “small potatoes” and then by rubbishing opposition to the construction of data centers, despite an NBC News survey finding that 69 percent of the public do not want them built in their area. “Members are going back to their districts each week, confronting concerns about affordability and inflation, and you have Trump openly dismissing those affordability concerns,” GOP strategist Kevin Madden told the FT. “That has to change.”Other worries among conservatives have been the president’s reluctance to release his MAGA Inc. Pac’s $400 million war chest to support failing candidates – he has just announced that $10 million will be made available to back Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s struggling Senate bid – and his focus on issues that do not matter to voters like his new White House ballroom and “beautification” agenda in Washington, D.C. “Swing voters, especially, don’t like Trump’s personal aggrandisement,” another Republican strategist, John Feehery, told the FT. Perhaps the biggest issue of all, however, is that the president himself does not appear to have got the message, insisting that he be front and center of his party’s campaign messaging this fall and telling guests at his Rose Garden barbecue last week that he intends to enter the fray in earnest for the final 30 days of campaigning.