00:00The 2026 midterms will go down as one of the most sweeping repudiations of a sitting president in modern American
00:07history.
00:08Republican losses were so deep, so wide, so everywhere, that it would be weird to see this as anything but
00:16a massive repudiation of Trump,
00:17his agenda, his style, his rhetoric, and his presidency.
00:22Republicans are left with two more years of riding a very unpopular leader managing a very unpopular war.
00:29Will this kill the party of Reagan and Bush for years to come?
00:33Joining me now from Washington is political analyst and best-selling author Eric Hamm.
00:38Good morning to you.
00:40It's good to be here. Thanks so much for having me.
00:42So, Trump lost much of his power and influence, but a trapped and embarrassed Trump could be even more unpredictable.
00:49How do you think he's going to react?
00:52That is a really good question.
00:54We do know that President Donald Trump already is coming across as conservatory.
00:59However, as you say, he does have two years left in office, and we know President Donald Trump likes to
01:05be the center of attention.
01:07And so I think he will use these last two years to do everything he can to make sure that
01:12he is at the forefront, even if it is for good or even for bad.
01:17Republicans in Congress will be a mostly old and mostly white minority caucus facing a younger and more diverse Democratic
01:25majority.
01:26Are Republicans now staring down potentially years of political insignificance?
01:31Well, look, if you go back to 2024, President Donald Trump made tremendous strides and inroads with African-American voters,
01:40Latino voters, and young people.
01:42Those were seen as the third rail of politics that were always seen as no-go zones for Republicans.
01:47However, President Donald Trump was able to break into those key communities.
01:53And many thought that that would lay the groundwork for a generation of new Republicans to submit their gains for
01:59years to come.
02:00However, we see just two years later, Democrats have actually clawed those gains back.
02:05And what it makes clear is these are voters that are up for grabs.
02:09And what people want more than anything are results.
02:12And look, now we're heading into the all-important 2028 presidential election where the White House now is in line.
02:19And so voters have to make – I mean, so these lawmakers now are on the – they are auditioning
02:26for that.
02:26And they have to actually make gains in order to keep those voters in line.
02:30Eric, let's talk about Texas for a second, where Republicans lost the races for senator, governor, attorney general, lieutenant governor,
02:39even railroad commissioner, and numerous congressional seats.
02:42What does this tell us about the presidential election in 2028?
02:46Well, many now believe that Texas could be in play.
02:50We're talking in an electoral-rich state that has always been the anchor of Republican presidential politics.
02:57Now, if Democrats can actually flip Texas and they believe that they can, this could actually shape the presidential election
03:05and put a massive, massive number of electoral votes in the hands of Democrats.
03:10But Republicans are not going to go down without a fight.
03:13I think they are going to do everything they can to actually swing Texas back.
03:18But again, it will depend largely on how the new governor and, of course, a new Democratic-controlled Congress responds
03:26to economic anxiety throughout the country.
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