I don’t do true opinion pieces on here very often, but we are now in a position where there are some issues we need to address before we get shellacked in the 2026 midterm cycle.
While many Republicans are whispering behind the scenes, many of them are brushing off concerns publicly.
Michael Goodwin, a columnist for the New York Post, just did a piece on this, as he and I are among the few who are willing to take this issue on directly, offering up a tough-love assessment of the GOP as we move into the next election cycle.
Did we really expect to win big during the 2025 cycle?
No, but there were winnable races that the GOP never took seriously enough.
For instance, had the New York RNC taken the New York City mayoral election more seriously and put a better candidate on the ballot, I truly believe the GOP would have an incoming Republican mayor.
The same can be said in New Jersey, as Democrats had a candidate surrounded in controversy, but we had a weaker candidate who got virtually no support from the party.
When I was a kid, and I got in trouble for cracking wise to my mom, she would always tell me, “It’s not what you said, it's how you said it,” which was usually followed up with a crack across the mouth.
Well, the 2025 election results were the equivalent of that smack in the face, as there were some very telling signs.
We got crushed across the board in the minority demographic as well as with women, two areas where we had seen improvements for the GOP during the 2024 cycle.
The same can be said for the Gen Z and millennial voters, who have apparently gone back to their old ways.
Goodwin agrees that we need to hit the reset button, and we need to do it now. Trump can start by not calling women reporters “Piggy” and “ugly both inside and out” when he does not like their questions. If you want to win over women voters, you cannot be tossing around insults like that, not to mention it is just childish.
What else can Trump do? Well, I am on the same page as Goodwin in terms of the main points: tighten the focus, stop being spiteful, and tighten performance.
Tighten the focus: Trump and everyone in the party need to start hammering the right message, and that is clearly making this country more affordable for the middle class, which it still is not. I can tell you firsthand that my bank account has been going backwards for five years now, and there is no sign of that letting up with out-of-control health insurance premiums. You promised to fix the healthcare system, so do it.
Stop being spiteful: when Trump does not get his way, he stomps his feet like a child and starts to spit venom. His base loves it, but it turns everyone else off. For instance, look at how he is reacting with Ukraine, demanding Ukrainian President Zelensky express his gratitude publicly. The war with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). These are just a couple of examples, but issues like this should be handled behind the scenes and not publicly. And simply put, you just cannot kick everyone out of the party every time they disagree with you, or we won’t have anyone left.
Tighten performance. I am going to use the recent dismissal of the Comey and James case as an example. The cases were not dismissed on merit, but because Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed two acting US Attorneys in the space of 120 days, which is illegal. It is sloppy work, and she needs to be better.
If they address just these three areas, as well as identify new candidates and get that message out right now, we can still keep the damage to a minimum in 2026, if not win. We have to hold either the House or Senate in these midterms because if we don’t, it will be 2022 and impeachment hell all over again. Tighten up the ship, or face the consequences.
