Trump Ditches GOP in Secret Midterm Panic

He's more interested in trying to change people's minds about him than he is in actually saving the jobs of the people on the hill who, let's face it, they're gonna be unemployed if they don't win these midterms. - So I think people understand that yeah, he has his priorities wrong. The other thing as well is while they're cost arising, he is getting richer. You're now focusing your attention on expensive projects like a White House ballroom, a helipad, a big arch in on over yourself and not talking enough about my problems. It is a referendum always on the president of the day that's happening in 2022 as well. But I think in this case, embracing that strategy, leaning into it is the big risk for Donald Trump. - Welcome to the Daily Beast podcast. I'm Nico Hines, editorial director at the Daily Beast. I'm in for Joanna Coles. On today's episode, my colleague in DC, Faratomersin, joins us to discuss how Trump is throwing the Republican party under the bus, how he was booed by his own party in the GOP primary in South Carolina this week, the alarming secret behind Carolina Levitt's departure, and finally, in the week that we lost two of the greatest eight-year-olds on Earth, we will check in on Donald Trump's health. Before we dive into the show, please take a moment. Share this podcast with your friends and invite them to subscribe to the Daily Beast YouTube channel. And now let's get into it with Faratomersin. Farat, thanks for joining. Let's start with one of my absolute favorite stories of the week, which has so many classic Trump ingredients in it. We discovered from a great piece in the Atlantic that there was a big summit earlier this month in the Oval Office to discuss how to spend the $400 million that Trump has racked up in his super PAC. And the top Republican strategists think that the best plan is to invest in local campaigns because they know that the country is very unhappy with what the White House has been doing, that they're down on Trump, that the economic ratings are appalling. And so they're recommending that a lot of this money is spent on ads, which will push the local candidates. Trump has other ideas. Trump wants to spend the money on a load of adverts saying how great he is. What do you think of this? Well, it's it's Donald Trump being Donald Trump, isn't it? I mean, it's a fascinating strategy to sort of really focus the attention on him. And he's essentially treating, I guess, the midterms less like, you know, 435 individual house races and 35 senate races and more like one giant show about Donald Trump. And it's interesting like Susie Wiles did outline this strategy earlier. I think last year she said he wasn't going to be on the ballot, but he would campaign like he was. He was going to campaign like it was 2024. And the thinking, I guess, behind that is that he is, according to them, a turnout machine. And midterm elections are all about turnout. They believe that he's kind of the strongest Republican political brand and that he still has enormous loyalty. So putting in front and center could perhaps boost turnout among voters, but, you know, that there's a danger in that, isn't there? I mean, a midterm isn't just one election, as you say. It's individual contests, each with different sort of candidates. I was speaking to a strategist earlier before I got on here. And I mean, think about a seat like Maine, for example. How is Susan Collins, the Republican Senate candidate, they're going to be feeling about having to campaign with Donald Trump when he's just across the border, created a war with Canada. That's going to be affecting their lobster and other products. So it is a particularly risky strategy, especially given his approval rating as well as tanking. I think the last sort of figures were at 33%. So it is, it is a big risk for Donald Trump, but it is very Donald Trump. Yeah. And of course, one of the important things to remember is that this is not money that was raised for the RNC or by the RNC with Trump's help. This is money that he has raised himself. This is his money in his super PAC, which he controls. And that is one of the huge levers that he's always had within the party, right? He's this great fundraiser. And as a result, he has this huge amount of power to exert his influence and force people in the party to do what he wants, even if they think that they've got wiser ideas. Absolutely. And you're right. This money that's gone into this super PAC of his is not, you know, necessarily geared towards particular candidates. They are from donors, big name billionaires in the crypto industry and other industries that Donald Trump happens to be helping out with releasing of regulations and the like, the Winkleboss twins and others. So it is essentially a situation where Donald Trump controls the purse drinks. And Donald Trump can decide what he wants. And therefore, GOP candidates in local individual seats don't really have much of a say whether or not they like it. But he is very much sort of centering this on him. I mean, you will note that there's a Republican National Committee midterm convention happening next month. And that's very unusual. We obviously have conventions in presidential years, but not midterm conventions. And that is all about Donald Trump coming for two days to Dallas, forcing everyone to come. I think, you know, House Republicans are being forced to spend up to $25,000 to attend. So they're not particularly happy about that. And really kind of, you know, rally the troops, so to speak, and have the show all about him. He'll be attending the convention over two days, speaking on the last day, JD events will be there. But again, a lot of strategists I've spoken to are asking, why on earth are we doing this? Why are we not sort of, you know, getting out there and really sort of localizing these debates? So the other thing I think, Nico, is, you know, the risk in this strategy was even highlighted by Fusy Wiles and her then Deputy James Blair. I think in February of this year, they had a strategy meeting inviting a whole bunch of administration officials to a secret spot in Capitol Hill, where they talked about the midterms going forward. And they actually acknowledged that the affordability issue was going to be a real problem for them going forward. And they had to message that really well. Because people were not feeling the effects of, you know, their supposed gains, similar to the problem that, you know, Joe Biden had he kept insisting that, you know, they were doing lots of things for affordability, but people just weren't buying it. They did acknowledge in that strategy meeting that there is also a lack of discipline from Trump. When he makes himself the star of the show, when he does a rally, he can kind of veer off script. And they actually said to the, you know, dozens of administration officials who were in attendance that day, we need you to get out there and be on message because he has a tendency to be completely undisciplined in Gulf script. So these are all sort of the risks involved in making, you know, Donald Trump, the star of this midterm campaign and treating it more like a referendum on him, rather than a whole bunch of individualized racists. No, it's not completely crazy, is it? Because obviously it is a bit of a referendum on the president and it always is in the midterm. So you can't escape that. And it is important for the Republicans to try and move the dialer little in terms of, you know, the way people see Trump. The trouble is that people on the issues that they care most about and say that they're going to vote on, they do not trust Trump. They do not think he's done a good job. You know, the economy, obviously, is the absolute classic where even people who didn't really like Trump knew that he was a bit of a wrong and perhaps but still voted for him because they thought that he would do as he promised, bring inflation down, turn the economy around and bring prosperity to America. Well, that has not happened. And in fact, he started a venglorious war in the Middle East, which is shot petrol prices up and gas prices at the pump. He's also contributed to inflation rising and it's now kind of back to levels that are worse than when he took over. And so it was a real danger by making him front and centre that there's some gain for himself because he likes to be the centre of attention. But this is why some people are characterising this strategy summit as throwing the party under the bus because he's more interested in trying to change people's minds about him than he is in actually saving the jobs of the people on the hill who, let's face it, they're going to be unemployed if they don't win these midterms, right? Absolutely. And I think, I mean, I spent a lot of time traveling around the various battleground stage during the 2024 election. And I met a lot of people who were in that boat who basically said, look, I don't necessarily like his character. Yeah, you know, he was indicted in relation to Hush Money involving a sex scandal and he does some, you know, pretty nasty tweets in the life. But I'm willing to put that aside because I believe that he is going to fix the economy for me. I believe that he's going to bring down grocery prices. I believe he's going to get a sketch out of these foreign walls. He made all of those promises and many people did believe him. Not only has he not delivered, he's also shifted the focus so much to himself that his priorities are short and people can see that. I mean, this morning he spent the entire morning tweeting as opposed to on true social images of his vanity projects. The various fountains that he's, you know, spruced up in Washington DC, I've got to say that they look great, wonderful. But could you also bring down my grocery prices? And I think people understand that, yeah, he has his priorities wrong. The other thing as well is while their costs are rising, he is getting richer. You know, he has used the office of the presidency to enrich himself. You know, the grift is real. I mean, I was looking at some figures just the other day for this one, actually. And As our gas prices are rising thanks to the war in Iran he has been able to make I think 15 million over the last year and stocks on oil and gas companies an additional 15 million to what he was already made bringing is bringing things up to I think 65 million of there about so it's that kind of theme it's like you you promise me all this it's not only not happening you're now focusing your attention on expensive projects like a white house ballroom a helipad a big arch in or knew of yourself and and not talking enough about my problems so it's it's a it's a worry and I think yeah it will be very interesting to see how this midterm election plays out because yes it is a referendum always on the president of the day that's happened in 2022 as well um but um and previous elections but I think in this case embracing that strategy leaning into it is the big risk for Donald Trump and the midterms themselves obviously take place in November but the voting actually has begun already hasn't it because we're in the thick of primary season and there was an extraordinary scene this week in the Republican Senate primary in South Carolina where Donald Trump's chosen nominee Darlene Graham the sister of Lindy Graham who died suddenly earlier this year has been in a very tough fight against a local challenger called Ralph Norman and the battle got very very tight Trump was intervening and getting really quite involved in this and again you'd like to think that he was doing it for uh selfless reasons to help the party but of course with Donald Trump there's always an ulterior motive and Trump has stuck his neck out throughout his time as leader of the party whether he was president or not and taken great care to make sure that he's endorsed candidates win and he keeps track of them and he talks about them and you guys at the swamp have been tracking how this year he's actually equaled his record worst performance and ten of his endorsed candidates have already lost. Now Darlene Graham squeaked through last night the scene at the uh in South Carolina was not all good for Donald Trump because Ralph Norman gave a concession speech and he was pretty magnanimous about the fact that Trump had blown up his chance of winning an almost guaranteed seat in the senate by intervening on behalf of his old pal Lindy Graham's sister but as he was talking when he mentioned the president a crowd and let's remember this is a crowd of Republican voters and not just any you know swaying Republican these are Republicans who care so much about the Republican party that they actively campaign in the local primary the the the the name of the president was mentioned and the crowd broke out into a chorus of booze. You know the president got involved and he has that right that's his progative as I told I never well this is not the kind of power that Trump is supposed to have over the party what's happening it was quite an extraordinary scene and and I think I mean you have to fear for poor old Ralph Norman I mean the guys are five term congressman and you know he basically lost to somebody who was brought out of relative obscurity simply because Donald Trump had I guess an apparent affection for her late brother Lindy Graham and he's golfing buddy but it was a really fascinating campaign to watch I mean she was a political novice she flubbed her debate as we saw last last week. Even Fox News described her as an empty vessel nice lady but an empty vessel they said she'd given money to a pro choice state senate a senator in the past which of course aggravated the conservatives and Ralph Norman is regarded as you know a fairly solid you know conservative he hasn't necessarily let the world on fire in congress but he was certainly you know backed by some people with within the party who were considered heavyweights people like you know Nikki Haley and the like and he was outspent Donald Trump basically really pushed endorsements for and Darling Graham gave three rallies one in person one on election night eve another telly telly rally he used a lot of money I think over 800,000 from his mega ink pack to outspend Norman and you know he managed to get her over the line because as you say this was a lot of risk for him as well I mean he has had a number of his picks lose their races recently which is obviously put his power into question you know Republicans as as you said I think they've rejected 10 Trump endorse candidates for state word office this prime receivers and you know folks like Cory Mills and Florida um Mike Lindell the my pillow guy in Nell Minnesota um Congressman and Andy Ogles I believe in Tennessee these uh you know we're we're Trump picks and it obviously was coming down to his power as well putting his power in question so it was it was a lot was writing on the line for Donald Trump and I think also there was that affection there with with Lindsey Graham the former uh mega senator who uh also have it to be Trump's golfing buddy um so a lot of effort went into getting Darling over the line how she'll go in the general elections yet to be seen I do tend to think that South Carolina is a fairly ruby red season she should be okay but she already had another kind of a gap I mean she made the point I think about her Democratic opponent Annie Andrews uh seemed to be criticizing her for expanding health care access and in the same breath describing how both her parents worked while they were sick and then died while she was a child how was that a winning winning message you know already the attack ads are coming out I got a press release from one of the Dems groups earlier this morning basically saying Darling Graham wants to deny South uh Carolinia's um affordable health care even after losing both parents who have broken health system so she's already had uh a bit of a bit of a flood even after winning Trump's endorsement and the primary so it'll be a very interesting race to watch and Trump did have a lot on the line yeah I mean if if you know it's it's not like this is Maine right where Susan Collins is absolutely you know in a razor close fight to secure that Senate seat this is a such a deep red states South Carolina but if anyone can lose it I do believe Darling Graham could lose it because if she repeats the kind of flood that she had in the primary debate stage she does a couple of occasions like that that are being exposed statewide if they have a kind of robust debate with the Democratic candidate you know she she has actually shown such weakness that she is potentially there for the taking I think what's really really interesting Trump didn't just spend money on this race he was also hitting the phone to himself right he was on the phone to I think two former South Carolina governors Nikki Haley who you mentioned and also Mark Sanford who those with the long political American memories will remember a rather controversial politician from the South Carolina he tried to persuade them personally person to person on the phone to back Darling Graham to rally round Lindsey Graham and you know to bring the party together and they turned around and said no to him and that's just something you could not have imagined happening say in 2016 if we'd been in this same scenario yeah exactly and I think there's also a bit of discontent within on Capitol Hill because Donald Trump has pretty much endorsed the opponents of various incumbents I mean as I mentioned Ruff Norman was a five term congressman so he's been quite established on the Hill as a lot of friends there a similar situation happened to John Kornon the Texas senator who was who lost his seat against Ken Paxon a very problematic candidate once again because Donald Trump endorsed him now these fights in the Republican Party primaries and indeed the Democratic Party primaries they can play out and and and be be quite bitter and affirmonious but how these candidates will then go in a general election is the big risk and if you're all spending a lot of money to defend people like Darling Graham because you because she's you know stuffing up her debates or making major errors or indeed Ken Paxon in Texas because he's very problematic and has a has quite a history shall we say you're not spending money elsewhere in seats that the Democrats are really eyeing off like the mains of the world and and another seat so it is it is it's a huge risk okay we've already talked a little bit about the huge importance of mega ink Trump's personal extremely rich super PAC this you guys at the swamp and let me tell everybody remind everybody that they must subscribe to the swamp sub stack which is fantastic and takes you into the murkiest grimeiest corners of Washington DC there was a great story this week on the swamp which revealed where Caroline Levy is headed next and what does that tell us about Trump's priorities well Karen I live it obviously she mentioned as she is now going to be leaving the White House Prosecutory which has been a very effective mouthpiece for Donald Trump um she will now be obviously spending a lot more time with her kids that is in fact true but she's also going to be joining mega ink which we've just been talking about this sort of video the dark money shadow operation that is funneling a lot of money to Donald Trump so she's basically going to be plotting for the president if you like and and his future um even though she will no longer be doing so from the podium of the White House Caroline has worked at mega ink before be be Before she was a Prosecutory, I think in 2023 she was working with this operation. She then became campaign spokesman for Donald Trump in his 2024 campaign and then obviously the Prosecutory. But this is a much different operation now. It is bigger, far more solid in terms of the political minds behind it, far bigger in terms of the war chest that is being amassed. And I guess she's working in an undisclosed role again, it's a bit of a mystery. What she'll be doing there. But she'll be working alongside James Blair, who I mentioned earlier, was Susie Wiles' deputy and one of the great political minds within Donald Trump's orbit. He is now running the show, focused like long-term strategist Chris Zavita. He's also there, Tony Fubrizio, the GOP pollsters doing some of work with them. And they are going to be quite against scheming ahead of the election. And I mean that the great sort of question here though, is why does Donald Trump have such a big super PAC when he's essentially going to be a lame duck president for the next potentially, a lame duck president for the next couple of years and is not meant to be running for another term, yet he's amassing a huge war chest. He's yet to spend it. Now there is talk that he's going to be spending it on this campaign of ads centering on himself and the like. The biggest intervention he's made using that funding so far has obviously been in darling Graham's race. But what exactly is going on with this sort of dark money kind of operation? What is he doing? And the fear I guess of some is that, you know, this could, is this going to a potential attempt to have another run in 2028? That is one of, I guess, the conspiracy theory is going around on the questions being asked and the corridors of power, you know, again, why is such a big and precedent amount of cash being raised for what will could essentially be a lame duck president? Yeah, I think the alarm bells should be ringing. If they weren't already ringing for you, then this should really push that case in your head because the money is one thing. We know that Donald Trump loves to raise money and I'm sure he can think of many ways to spend $400 billion to enrich himself in some way or another or to push his own causes. To me, what stands out even more is these people that he's putting in there. I mean, you know, we know that he absolutely loves Caroline. And in fact, one of the reports about there, you know, why she decided to actually resign was because Trump was calling her so much during her maternity leave that she just could have put up with it anymore. And she was like, I've got to get out of this. And that just goes to the closeness that he has with her. And it's the same with Blair, like you say, and Lassavita, you know, these are figures that have been trusted for a long, long time in Trump's world. And these are people that he would only have pushing a project that he really cares deeply about. And as you say, if it's not for any further re-election of Donald Trump, what on earth could it be for? And take him together. I mean, you know, you could argue, look at all the things that are happening, mega ink, and people onto, you know, a massive, massive watchist. He's building a bunker in the white, under the White House ballroom, which some people are asking, again, is he going to leave? He's, you know, trying to push through reforms via the SAVAC to essentially, you know, metal in voting, in a sense. He's putting, moving immigration workers out of immigration and putting them on polling booths for the midterm elections. He's, you know, he's going to the courts to try to ensure that he gets an advantage in whatever way you shape or form he can in the various elections going forward. As a broader picture, it could be viewed as quite scary. If you were, if you were to think that he probably doesn't want to actually leave the, that the presidency. Now, whether that's the case, I don't know, but there are certainly some whispers around the corridors of power over here. Yes, I'm not surprised that that is Garrett Gaining Traction at all. If we look a little further ahead then, an imagined Trump in post-2028, that does bring once again into focus his health. And this week has been an awful week. We've lost possibly two of the greatest 80-year-olds on the planet, Dolly Parton, the country singing icon, and Tim Curry, who is a acting legend from films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Annie, both of those people from the outside appeared to be very healthy in recent years. They were 80 years old. I think it would be remiss of us not to cast a riot, the health of Donald Trump, who is also 80. What's the latest we're hearing about him and his fight with the doctors? Well, I mean, I guess he, one thing that we do have to look at in the context of the midterm elections and the fact that they are going to be placing him front and center is the fact that campaigning requires stamina, and his health is on the decline. So it will be very interesting to see how he fears. I mean, I remember, as I said, in 2024, he was, he basically did, I think, was it 90 or so rallies in the 2024 political cycle, and I attended a lot of them, and I was exhausted. He was pretty much going to every battle Wednesday, sometimes, multiple times a day, according to a medical report released by the White House in May, though, he's putting on a lot of weight. I mean, you know, they say he's doing well, he's pretty good shape for an 80-year role, but I think in May, the President weighed in at, I think, 238 pounds, which put him about 1.6 pounds shy of obesity, and that has meant he's gained about 14 pounds since his latest physical and 23 pounds since 2023. Now, why is this a concern? Because there's just one issue that is affecting the President's health. He's obviously got chronic banners in sufficiency, which is sort of affecting the blood flow to his heart, which is resulting in his cancels. Doctors I've spoken to in recent weeks have spoken about the fact that if he is gaining weight, if he is not sleeping because he's rage-posting on true social all night, and he's not doing any exercise other than perhaps golf where most of it's driven around in a buggy, all of this affects CBI, and it also affects, you know, as I say, his ability to stay up at cabinet meetings and the like, and his broad sort of stamina in general to campaign. So it is, it is one thing to make him the center of a midterm campaign and have him out on the hustings, rallying and trying to turn out the vote, but it will be very interesting to see the fact that, you know, he's an 80 year old guy who's not exactly in the shape that he once was. Slowing down a bit, we all are, nothing wrong with that, but it will be a very interesting test to see how he campaigns this time around. Yeah, and I think we also have to factor in that these are the weights that in one case Trump himself gave when he was in charge over a potential election interference. Another one is an official weight that was put out by the White House. And so I think it's fair to say that we have to give them a pinch of salt, those numbers. And if he's, if he, on the official numbers that they're putting out, he's only 1.6 pounds shy of obesity, then the overrunner has got to be that he is in fact officially classed as obese. And I think it's very obvious, there's one thing that we always say to the reporters here at the Daily Beast, say what you see, it's one thing to have a great source. It's one thing to talk to lots of people on the ground in DC as you do. And as you've been talking to people in the corridors of power and at the White House, they seem to have noticed that he's been putting on weight in recent months, but also just use your own eyes. When you see him on the TV, he is not looking trim. And even by his standards, he's looking a lot heavier. Doctors will tell you, and I'd speak to a few of them in relation to Donald Trump's health and their view is he is, he's well beyond what the White House numbers suggest. So they have put him in the obese category, and that is obviously potentially problematic for his other ailments. Yeah. And the thing with obesity is that what doctors will tell you is that it is like the number one determinant of all these other health outcomes, right? Some of which you touched on earlier, but one that you skirted around slightly is life expectancy. I mean, somebody who is obese and 80 years old is not likely to last as long as someone who's fit and healthy. Hmm. It is interesting. He does seem to be also talking about his mortality a lot more than he used to as well. You might have noticed in rallies, he'll occasionally make little equips about the fact that, you know, he's not as young as he used to be. In relation to his weight, though, he doesn't sort of, he very much attacks other people forward. I was at the White House correspondence association dinner, the second one, the redo, after the shooting incident in April. And he might have remembered, he was making a lot of jokes about people like JB Pritzker and Chris Christie and their weight, I remember in the Oval Office some time ago, he outed communications director, Stephen Schwung, about the fact that he is on, quote unquote, the fat drug, but he doesn't like to talk about his own weight at the same time is quite vain. He doesn't want to put on a bullet proof vest, he said, at the White House correspondence dinner because it might have made him look a little bit heavier. So it's an interesting one. I believe he's kind of conscious of the fact that, you know, he's not the spring chicken that he used to be, but getting them the White House and him to talk about it is another question in terms of transparency. The remark about the Bulletproof Fest was definitely a highlight of that rather harrowing dinner in DC that we both endured a few months ago. It was interesting though that he did actually make a public remark about it. And he has made a few little references to, you know, he sometimes talks about his diet and how he knows he should be on the, you know, less junk food and he knows he should be healthier admitting that he doesn't like to look fat in the picture. Although it was just a little, a little side remark, it was quite telling that that is in his mind. And his doctors are telling him to have a better diet. I mean, the, the man is, you know, famous for loving his burgers, his big Macs. I mean, his favorite burger, he, for McDonald's, he says is the fillet official though he would like more tartar sauce as he keeps telling the guys about McDonald's. He, he loves Diet Coke. He has the famous Diet Coke button that he presses. He has been told by his doctors that he does need to have a better diet. And, you know, others have commented about it as well. But it is, and you might notice really is also talking a lot more about whether or not he's going to go to heaven, which I thought was an interesting kind of development in recent months. But very much is thinking about his own mortality and the fact that, you know, he's, he's 80 years old, as you say. And we have had this week two people of the same age and, you know, the incredible dolly part in the great unifier among them, masher western piece, who just left us very suddenly. So it is something that I think we always have to keep track of. And we certainly do here at the Daily Beast, perhaps more than any other organization I must say, in terms of setting the gender on, on his health. Definitely more than any other outlet. And I think, you know, after Joe Biden, I think we were very conscious of learning that lesson and making sure that yes, it might be uncomfortable to talk about the underlying health of the president, the most powerful man on earth. But it's really, really important to keep an eye on. And in fact, when you were in the White House and you were given the opportunity to ask a question to Caroline Levitt, you zeroed in on his health and it didn't go down that well, did it? Not particularly. No, they don't like necessarily talking about it. I think it was, it was a time when he started appearing with a lot of bandages on his hand. And I, you know, made an obvious question, what on earth is going on? And it's something that I don't think a lot of the other sort of media really focus on enough, quite frankly, because as you say, we, we all sort of failed in a way to kind of really prosecute the case that Joe Biden was in cognitive decline. So we don't want to make the same mistakes again. And, and it does go to the, it's a very valid question, I believe, despite the White House's anger, every time we ask it, because this is the man who holds the nuclear codes, the commander in chief. And it also goes to this broader question as well. I think that something we do want to think of going forward, the generational change that's needed in 2028 as we look towards if Trump doesn't decide to stay around, who's next. I think that's why, you know, people like Marco Rubio and J.D. Vant will represent a changing of the guard and a much needed changing of the guard show us in terms of age. Fantastic. Well, look, Farah, thank you so much. I know that you will continue to cover Trump's health as well as the rest of the midterm that run folding. If you think that we as independent media should continue to push that case, consider visiting the DailyBeast.com where we have all the latest and perhaps even subscribing to the DailyBeast on Substack, where we are sending important emails to you each day with the top stories that you need to be following and crucially why they matter. Thank you so much Farah. Speak to you soon. Thanks guys. 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