President Trump’s decision to make Stephen Miller his new chief of staff is a rebuke of the midterm results and a doubling-down on Trumpism.
Transcript
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
And we turn now to senior contributor Ron Elving. Ron, thanks so much for being with us.
RON ELVING, BYLINE: Good to be with you, Scott.
SIMON: We have heard the 2026 election results referred to as a blue wave, a blue tsunami, a Republican catastrophe. What do you think America did Tuesday?
ELVING: It was all those things you said. And also, the voters gave us a way to think about the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. As much as anything, that breakthrough document was a rejection of autocratic rule – the king of England. We’ve seen rallies around the country this past year take the slogan of No Kings. And that theme, that spirit, was abroad in the land this past week.
SIMON: Was it ultimately the price of gas and groceries, the war in Iran or the Trump circle lining their pockets that were the critical issues, as is widely reported?
ELVING: Short answer – yes. Let’s just say all the above. Some would cite the war and gas prices first, and we are hearing that from some Republicans. But corruption was coming up fast as a top issue for many voters. And all through the fall, it was rising, and we see that in the exit polls too. The best Democratic campaigns were able to tie that concern over corruption tightly to voters’ concerns with affordability – not just gas, but groceries and healthcare and childcare and education and so on.
SIMON: Is what we have referred to as Trumpism over – defeated?
ELVING: An enormous question. Let’s fudge that with a yes and no. Yes, the relationship Donald Trump had for years with voters disaffected with Washington, tired of elitism, tired of feeling left behind and especially with wars overseas – that relationship has been strained, and to the breaking point for many. But this other kind of Trumpism, less broadly appealing but more intensely appealing for his hardcore supporters – that’s not likely to go away.
We saw that in Trump’s decision to make Stephen Miller his new chief of staff. Miller, the former deputy chief in charge of domestic policy, is a big supporter of aggressive ICE actions, the architect of deportation policy and quotas. Trump at first reacted on Tuesday by saying he’d work with Democrats. But as the week wore on and the magnitude of MAGA’s rejection became clear, Trump is reported to have grown angry and decided to be more confrontational with Democrats, not less. So Miller is a very clear gesture to Congress, a very familiar one, and not an olive branch. That definition of Trumpism is not dead. That kind of Trumpism will set the tone for the next two years and for the 2028 elections.
SIMON: And, of course, we just heard our friend Eric McDaniel report on what Republicans plan to do with their congressional majorities over the coming weeks. What can Democrats do once they take over and in the – what? – two weeks before the 2028 campaign starts about prices?
ELVING: They cannot legislate prices, but they can create conditions for prices to fall. No. 1, they can do all they can to end the war on Iran. That would be expected to lower energy costs and a host of other costs as well. End the tariffs and the other irritants in our trade policy, rein in the corruption that people see as part and parcel of higher prices, and prices may well come down. We shall see.
SIMON: Ron, so many new faces for Democrats. What do they seem to have learned from their reverses in 2024?
ELVING: There seems to be more focus on what the country needs and wants and will vote for, as opposed to what Democratic operatives and activists would like, such as rolling back all the domestic policies of the Trump administration. There seems to finally be consensus among Democrats on emphasizing core issues, such as affordability. But we can expect there to be lots of energy behind some of the social-issue campaigns as well.
SIMON: Ron, I don’t like the fact – as I know you don’t – that as soon as the midterm elections are over, people begin to talk about who will be the next presidential candidates. So, Ron, who’ll be the major party nominees for president in 2028?
ELVING: If you think you and I don’t like it, imagine how much Trump hates it. But on Trump’s team, the heirs apparent are JD Vance, the vice president, Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and perhaps either Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who still thinks he should have been the nominee in 2016, or possibly Ron DeSantis, who thought he should have been the nominee in 2024. DeSantis is just wrapping up two terms as governor of Florida, the one state in the most populous 14 states that will have a Republican governor. There are others, of course, and will be many eventually on the Republican side, but these are the most obvious right now.
On the Democratic side, you have younger, vigorous senators in Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock – two from one state – and Arizona’s Mark Kelly, and a wealth of new energy from the governors, such as Andy Beshear in Kentucky, Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan, Gavin Newsom in California and others.
SIMON: Ron Elving, thanks.
ELVING: Thank you, Scott.
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