'Republicans are freaked out' as Trump self-inflicted wound takes its toll: journalists

Political insiders are sounding the alarm about deepening Republican anxiety heading into the 2026 midterm elections, with GOP operatives describing a party struggling to find a winning message as President Trump's unpopularity reaches new lows.

Jackie Kucinich, Washington Bureau Chief at The Boston Globe, offered a blunt assessment of the current Republican predicament: "Republicans are freaked out." And as evidence, she added, "Watch how they're spending their money."

The GOP's spending patterns tell the story, according to the journalist. In Ohio—a state Trump has carried three times—Republicans have allocated $79 million just this month to defend the Senate seat against Democrat Sherrod Brown, a signal of how vulnerable the party perceives the race, she said.

"Ohio, which has been a pretty solidly red state. Now, you have Republicans really shelling out money there because they're worried about this senate race, as they should be," Kucinich explained, citing rising energy and cost-of-living concerns in the state.

The core problem facing Republicans, according to journalist and MS NOW host Eugene Daniels, is a fundamental lack of accomplishments to campaign on. "The White House and Congress have to give the rest of their party, the people in Congress, something to run on," he stated.

Daniels also emphasized that "every single day, Donald Trump says something that makes it harder for Republicans," creating a self-inflicted crisis for the party.