Trump's Trials - With midterms closing in, some Republicans distance from Trump

Episode Date: September 25, 2026

There's a rare thing happening inside President Trump's Republican Party: dissent. The president has long insisted on loyalty, but in recent weeks, a growing number of Republican candidates and elected officials have distanced themselves from core pieces of his agenda: from calling for an end to the U.S. war with Iran and relief from high prices, to criticizing his handling of key agenda issues like immigration. NPR's Elena Moore reports. mSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

You're listening to Trump's terms. I'm Scott Detrow. Every episode, we bring you one story from NPR's recent coverage of the 47th president. With a focus on ways his administration is pushing the boundaries of presidential power. Here's the latest from NPR. I'm Lela Faldon. There's a rare thing happening inside President Trump's party. A growing number of Republicans are distancing themselves from Trump on key issues, as the party is scrambling to hold on to a slim matured.

in Congress. NPR political reporter Elena Moore is following this, and she joins me now. Hi. Good morning. Good morning. So where are you seeing these splits? The war with Iran is a major point of contention. Trump has consistently stood by his decision, saying Iran can't be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, but the war is unpopular among voters, and many are concerned about how it's affecting rising costs. It's something Republicans are trying to address in some of these super-close races. Like in Iowa, Republican Senate candidate Ashley Henson released a statement earlier this week opposing the war and lobbied for more relief to voters dealing with high gas and diesel prices. That stood out because as a member of the House, she previously voted against efforts to end the war.

Michigan GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers also addressed it saying this. Michigan families are struggling with the price of everyday life. Groceries cost too much. We have to bring prices down. The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly. Okay, so the war, are there other issues where candidates are differentiating themselves? Yeah, I mean, one of the most striking examples came from Florida Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar. She represents part of Miami. And last week, she released a campaign ad where she spoke directly to Trump and argued that his immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far.

Be careful what your advisors are telling you about immigration policies. The same Hispanics who help you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today. And Layla, Salazar represents a majority Hispanic district, one of several in the state that national polling shows, has shifted left since the election two years ago. That's quite a defiant tone there. What does this tell us about the state of the GOP right now? Well, Trump's been looming large throughout this midterm cycle.

He's repeatedly weighed in, telling supporters to vote like he's on the ballot. But that could hurt his party. According to the latest NPR PBS News Marist poll, a plurality of registered voters, 45% view their vote this fall as a vote against the president. I talked about this with GOP strategist Ron Bonjean. He argued that watching Republicans cross Trump like this shows how high the states are. They're doing everything they can to make sure voters understand that they're much more independent than voting with Trump 100% of the time or agreeing. with them 100% of the time. So is this any different than what we see every election where candidates moderate their message as they go from the primary election to the general? Well, I think what's interesting here is this isn't just happening with candidates. It's happening with sitting lawmakers, too, who aren't even on the ballot this year, like Utah Republican Senator John Curtis. On Tuesday,

he called for a congressional investigation into the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., over pro-publica, reported that a Russian oligarch paid for a lavish party celebrating his wedding. But, yeah, we should say, of course, these examples test the bounds of how loyal his party is, Trump's party, but it is still just a fraction of this larger GOP. Yes, there has been this wave of pushback. And yes, Trump has lost key support from parts of his 2024 coalition, but Layla, his base is still very much behind him. And PR political reporter Elena Moore. Thank you, Elena.

Thanks, Leila. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's term. from NPR.