President Donald Trump’s handpicked Republican National Committee chair is predicting GOP obliteration in the 2026 midterms.
With party operatives fearing Trump’s affordability message is poisoning candidates in key races, the Trump-backed RNC leader, Joe Gruters, 48, has been touring conservative media, warning that Republicans are headed for what he’s called a “pending, looming disaster.”
As reported by The Bulwark, Gruters has been telling GOP-friendly radio listeners to brace for the worst this week. “It’s not a secret. There’s no sugarcoating it. It’s a pending, looming disaster heading our way. We are facing almost certain defeat,” he was quoted saying.
Gruters also told NewsMax on Wednesday that a midterm defeat would allow Democrats to impeach Trump.
But, the outlet notes, Gruters isn’t actually calling for a break from Trump—he’s framing his warnings as expectation-setting, while arguing that the party’s best and only hope is...more Trump.
“The only person that could bring the nose up and help us win is the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump,” he was quoted saying.
Gruters has long been an ally of the president, and he vowed to help Trump with his agenda “100 percent” after being handpicked to chair the RNC over the summer.
Gruters’ doom tour has coincided with frustration inside the party over the cost-of-living crisis that has marred Trump’s second term. One strategist told the Bulwark: “His message sucks. It’s absolute trash. ‘Affordability is a Democrat hoax’???”
Another Republican operative summed it up: “It’s landing like doo doo.”
The Bulwark also reported that Trump has been nudged to soften his rhetoric—quoting him saying he “can’t call it a hoax”—even as he continues to embrace tariffs and blame inherited inflation.
He obviously hadn’t got the memo as of Tuesday, when the billionaire was pilloried for telling Pennsylvania steelworkers that parents should cut back on toys for their kids this Christmas.
The message infuriated voters. Because, while Forbes puts Trump’s personal wealth at $7.3 billion and growing, one survey this week found that nearly half of Americans are struggling to afford basics this holiday season. Some 55 percent of voters blamed Trump for soaring costs.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and Gruters for comment.
