Gregory Flap Cole

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Should President Trump make personnel changes after the 2026 midterms?

Love Ross, but I don't think this is quite right, as the problem seems to be more directly attributable to Trump. If we take Charlie Kirk as a proxy for the more polished New Right, he was trying to persuade the president to focus on kitchen-table economics, bringing down the cost of living for young people, and avoiding a war with Iran. According to exit polls, these were the most important reasons for the voter shift, plus corruption in the Mar-a-Lago orbit, which is distinct from the New Right milieu. Even on the smaller cultural issues like porn and drugs and gambling, the New Right and the president were increasingly on opposite sides. On policy, it's certainly fair to criticize protectionist tariffs, the DHS hype-reel videos, and the disastrous management of deportations, but for the latter, especially, the failure seems mostly related to Trump's bad cabinet picks, like Noem and Bovino, when he could have achieved significant out-migration without the heavy-handed militarized tactics in cities like Minneapolis, which led voters to the conclusion that "enforcement has gone too far." (Some of us were warning about this after the anti-ICE riots in the summer of 2025.) The problem for the New Right, and, one could say, its "failure," was that the president doesn't care about the right-wing intelligentsia—he is not ideological in that sense—and pursues his own vision in his own idiosyncratic way.

If Republicans want to win another election in our lifetime, we need to be honest about why voters elected Democrats last night. The three strikes that led to this are: 1. War in Iran: America has been at war for my entire life. Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq... If you run on no new wars and then start a war, people are going to be upset. If Iran were like Venezuela, quick and efficient with no downside to Americans, that would be different but we got higher prices and voters felt it. They were reminded of it every time they got gas for the past 8 months. 2. GOP Did NOTHING With Power: Voters gave Republicans a control of The White House, the Senate, the House and the Supreme Court. What did we do with it? Nothing. There was a lot of talk about the 'Big Beautiful Bill' but they didn't explain how it would make voters' lives better. People buying groceries saw their food getting more expensive. That's what they care about. 3. The Murder of Charlie Kirk: Charlie Kirk was a unifier who brought together a coalition of powerful forces like Elon Musk, RFK Jr, Tulsi Gabbard and was indispensable in getting out the youth vote. There was no better force for good behind the scenes who had the ear of the President. He constantly warned him about foreign intervention and surrounding himself with neocons. His absence was truly felt and it cannot be overstated. The sole focus of Republicans for the rest of my life needs to be: Homeownership, Cheap gas and groceries, Good jobs, strong economy, Closed border and Family creation This is what people vote for. This is the only way we will win.

Ron DeSantis is looking more and more like the hopeful version of what a restructured Republican party could look like.

🇺🇲 El-Sayed lays out his initial 3 priorities for when he gets sworn in as a U.S. Senator in January: "We have to end this war. We need a war powers resolution that brings war-making capacity back to Congress. No. 2, ending this tariff regime and war against Canada. No. 3, stopping the nuclear bomb that's about to go off in our healthcare with Medicaid cuts." So Trump and El-Sayed are both worried about nuclear bombs... just not the same ones. Writer: Marie

Millions Of Americans Struggle To Fill The Void In Their Lives Left By Absence Of Political Commercials buff.ly/i2Llmt1

I just spoke to @VDHanson about what the midterm results mean for Trump, the Republican Party, MAGA, and 2028. Here’s what he told me: The Republican losses were predictable. Since 1900 the White House party has lost House seats in ~90% of midterms (Senate in ~75%). The size of this wave (dozens in House, 7-9 Senate) is the real outlier. Trump has roughly 70 days to lock in judges, cabinet picks, and nominees before the new Congress arrives. With a ~45-seat Republican Senate, Trump will have to keep all Republicans in line or face a “veto-proof” Democratic Congress. Trump can and will act unilaterally on foreign policy and executive orders. Historical precedent is clear. “The imperial presidency operates as they wish,” Hanson says. The “affordability” story was heavily media-driven. Inflation is roughly one-third of 2022’s 9.1%. Family income is up ~$14k, GDP is stronger, stocks are +20k, poverty is down. The real issue is the 21% cumulative price jump he inherited—and the administration never clearly explained how slower inflation + higher incomes fixes it. Trump never explained in full why the Iran campaign was necessary. The first 38 days were a historic success; stopping short and endless talk of negotiations let Iran claim they stopped him. The messaging, not the campaign itself, was the biggest problem. Unlike this Congress, the new Democratic majority will have iron party discipline. That contrast will matter. 2028 starts now. The Vance-Rubio pairing will face immediate pressure—many will want Rubio at the top of the ticket, but Vance can’t run as VP again. Democrats will jump in fast. Their nominee will almost certainly come from the left of the party. The Republican path to recovery, Hanson argues, runs through results, not rhetoric. A strong economy in 2026-27, a finished Iran campaign, and visible progress on affordability give the next nominee a real chance. Without those, the structural advantages of the new Democratic Congress become decisive.

Decision Desk HQ projects Nithya Raman wins the CA Los Angeles Mayor Nonpartisan General Election #DecisionMade: 7:49 PM EST Follow live results here: votes.decisiondeskhq.com/rac…

Ron DeSantis just SNAPPED at Republicans for doing nothing with the majority: "I saw no indication that Republican Senators were interested in doing conservative change. Why haven't we done immigration, shut off H-1B visas? Why haven't we codified Trump's immigration executive orders? Why haven't we stripped jurisdiction from the federal courts over deportation cases? There's so many things we could have done." It was a betrayal and voters responded.

It was the only issue on the ballot.

POTUS considers purging Susie Wiles and Marco Rubio, according to The Daily Mail.

Once in a generation you get an inspirational leader like California's new governor, Xavier Becerra. His election immediately vaults him into the front row of 2028 presidential contenders.

🚨Report: President Trump is considering replacing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth following Republicans’ heavy midterm election losses. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is being mentioned as a possible replacement. Via: CBS News

🚨 BREAKING: Dan Sullivan is LEADING Mary Peltola in Alaska with 28% left! The Left ran a spoiler, but Dan is holding the line. Massive for the Senate. HOLD THE LINE, DAN! 🇺🇸

The only sane thing to come out of the midterms for California: likely rejection of the wealth tax (that would ultimately have applied to everyone) AND approval of a prohibition on future personal property (wealth) taxes! Pleasantly surprised! People saw how much $ California lost! 💸

Nevada Democrats Sweep Statewide Offices, Flip Longtime GOP House Seat Nevada Democrats are one senate seat away from imposing a personal state income tax. Read more @CaliforniaGlobe link 👇

Dear @POTUS @realDonaldTrump your VP just threw you under the bus. He's been undermining you in collaboration with Tucker since almost day one of your administration. Hopefully you will not endorse him for the nomination - he's disloyal and will lose a general election and guarantee a Dem administration that will come after you again.

Puppet @XavierBecerra will make things more expensive in California and morons will blame it on “Trump”