Does Trump Really Not Care About the Midterms?

Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, June 2, 2026

“I don’t care about the midterms,” President Donald Trump said last week. Conventional wisdom says he must. But maybe we should take him at his word.

The president has, again and again, created significant and unnecessary headwinds for Republicans.

Take Trump’s endorsement of scandal-ridden Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn in the Texas Senate primary. In polls, Paxton had consistently trailed Democratic frontrunner James Talarico relative to Cornyn. Now, Paxton’s win is giving Democrats the best shot they’ve had in decades to flip a Senate seat in the nation’s most populous red state. And it’s not just whom Trump picked but when: By waiting until the last minute to endorse, the president ensured the GOP bled cash for months.

Zoom out, and the president’s pattern of indifference grows. Trump also helped push out incumbent North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, who announced months ago that he wouldn’t run for reelection. That seat is now widely expected to flip to Democrat Roy Cooper. Republicans’ chances of holding the Senate in November have now dropped to a coin flip (55% to 45%), according to betting markets.”