Trump Sounds Midterms Alarm as GOP Struggles to Sell Message

President Donald Trump bills himself as a branding master, but even he’s warning the midterms are proving to be a “public relations” problem when it comes to the GOP promoting their successes in the campaign trail.

Despite a significant cash advantage Republicans are carrying into the final stretch of the midterm cycle, the president’s concession highlights a broader problem: Members are struggling to sell their message as Trump crisscrosses the country to many red districts and states trying to boost base turnout in November.

“The only thing we don’t have is good public relations,” he told reporters last week in the Oval Office in response to a question by Bloomberg Government. “We don’t seem to be able to get the word across that we have more people working than ever before, we have the best job numbers than ever before, and we don’t get the word across — and that’s because the press doesn’t want us to get the word across.”

Still, Republicans acknowledge they’ve failed to convince the public of their accomplishments.

Rep. Mike Rulli (R-Ohio) said he recognizes political challenges for his party, despite running for reelection in a seat considered safe for Republicans this cycle. Rulli said Republicans have done an especially poor job when it comes to touting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“We sort of blew that narrative,” Rulli told Bloomberg Government. “I do think people know they saved more in taxes this year than they ever did before, but these are things we have to address.”

One GOP campaign adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of their work on an active battleground Senate race, said the GOP’s problems are only being compounded by growing anxieties about gas prices and grocery costs.

“With affordability and the economy, those are issues right now that Republicans don’t seem to be able to break through in what they’re doing,” the aide said. “You’ve got to go back to what you’ve done, and I don’t really feel like anyone’s going around saying ‘this is what I’ve done for you.’”

Trump is trying several iterations of relaying the notion that the GOP isn’t selling itself effectively. He told reporters during a campaign stop in Texas that Republicans have done “a bad public relations job, but a great management job.”

During a recent rally in Oklahoma, Trump acknowledged Republicans were worried about key races in Michigan and Texas that could help tip control of the Senate, plus other competitive House districts.

“We are worried about a few states,” Trump said. “It’s all about 35 different contests.”

While Republicans have sought to promote last year’s tax bill through a nationwide tour and sell its border security measures, the White House has muddled the message with a rebrand effort to rename the legislation because of its unpopular public perception.

The president has also downplayed other victories, like a bipartisan housing bill passed in June that vulnerable GOP candidates were hoping to run on, a bill Trump opted not to sign because of his contention the Senate couldn’t get enough votes to pass the SAVE America Act.

John Brandt, a senior vice president at the bipartisan public affairs firm ROKK Solutions, said there’s been “a missed opportunity” by the GOP to publicize accomplishments that have broad appeal and can help with independent voters.

“I don’t think they did a lot of things to help themselves when it comes to figuring out what message they want to tell ahead of the election or stacking legislative achievements ahead of that, which vulnerable members could take home and tell positive stories to their voters,” Brandt said.

Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas), whose district is also considered safe for Republicans, downplayed the idea that the midterm results will be as detrimental for his party as what’s being presented at the moment.

“Republicans in each district message their wins in their own way depending on the top issues at home,” Gooden told Bloomberg Government.

Democrats Rejoice

Democrats, meanwhile, have used the advantageous political environment to attack Trump’s vulnerabilities.

Rodericka Applewhaite, who is advising several Democratic candidates in swing districts this cycle, said her party has successfully tied Republicans to Trump, even as some try to distance themselves from the president.

“Democrats across the country are doing a very good job of making sure that Republicans are being held accountable for the agenda they’ve pretty much writ large endorsed entirely,” she said, noting Republicans didn’t start pushing back on Trump until polling numbers painted a bleak picture.

Kendall Witmer, the Democratic National Committee’s deputy communications director, also criticized Vice President JD Vance’s strategy of telling voters to give Republicans more time to continue implementing their agenda.

“After two years in power with nothing to show for it except higher costs – their midterm message is desperately pleading with voters to ‘give [them] another chance,’” Witmer said.