Republicans Are Running From Trump. Will It Work?
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How are redistricting fights and election rules shaking voter confidence?
There are of course valid reasons to to redraw district maps. Um, but in an election year, could this not also be seen as a form of cheating?
The people I was talking to in Missouri really did feel like their vote was being diluted. It added to the sense that w why should I pass my ballot? It doesn't matter, it's all rigged anyway. I don't think it's going away. And the validity of it as a political tool is something that i is certainly being endorsed at this moment by both parties.
This is Radio Atlantic. I'm Adam Harris, and today we need to think about the mess of the midterms. With just over a month until election day, one might hope for a bit more certainty. Gerrymandering wars of the last two years have reshaped congressional maps across the country. Election deniers, some who still falsely contend that the 2020 election was stolen, are overseeing elections, and every other day it seems court decisions. are changing how people will vote this year. Bottom line, it's all very confusing and concerning, and one is forced to wonder whether it's also voter suppression. My colleagues Toulouse Olaranipa and Madeline Carlyle have been covering the shifting political and legal environments around midterm elections, and they join me now to discuss.
Let's get to questions. Tolu, Maddie, thank you so much for joining me today.
Hi, thanks for having me. Hey,
thanks. Thanks for having us.
Why are Republicans distancing themselves from Trump before the midterms?
I want to start by asking you both about something you've been reporting on, which is how more Republicans running for office are backpedaling away from President Trump. Tolu, midterms uh can often be a sort of referendum around a president and the sitting president and their policies. So is this pre-election politics as usual, or is there something else going on? What is your report? Show.
It's a little bit of both. There is sort of the normal backing away from an unpopular president that you tend to see in a midterm election. Midterm elections don't usually go very well for the party in power. And it's usually because the president is not as popular as he was when he was first elected. That's normal. But what is not normal is how much uh these Republicans are backing away from the president and the way that they're doing it and the fact That President Trump is unlike any previous president and that he does not allow people to back away from him, usually without paying a price. He's kept his party in line over the last several years by essentially going against anyone who speaks out against him, primarying them, showing them that he's willing to tank their political careers.
And so for that reason, we haven't seen a lot of people break from the president. But now his poll numbers are so low, he's so unpopular. The most unpopular that he's ever been over the course of his two different terms. And people are realizing that things are not getting better. Uh, they are not going to be successful if they stay with him. And so a number of these Republicans are realizing that they're seeing the polling, and they're starting to make some clear breaks with him over the war in Iran, over the affordability crisis, over things like AI and data centers. And the president has taken some unpopular positions. Positions on those issues until we're going to be able to do They are reading the room.
They're looking at their constituencies. They're realizing that their own political careers could end if they stay with the president. And so we're seeing this jailbreak of a number of Republicans uh speak out against the president, uh take different positions than he has taken. And we're seeing it in a way that we haven't seen it in the past when it comes to President Trump.
Yeah. And Manny, as as Tolu mentioned, right, this isn't something that the president typically takes sitting down, right? He he he's not one to sort of take criticism lightly. Um and and even beyond that, right? Um those who don't sort of full throatedly support him, um, he often doesn't take take too kindly to that.
Why is Trump allowing Republicans to break with him over unpopular policies?
Why is his response more muted this time around?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How are redistricting fights and election rules shaking voter confidence?
0:00–1:26
2
Why are Republicans distancing themselves from Trump before the midterms?
1:26–3:44
3
Why is Trump allowing Republicans to break with him over unpopular policies?
3:44–7:26
4
Can Republican candidates win voters by distancing themselves from Trump?
7:26–9:14
5
What do voter databases and China election claims mean for election integrity?
9:14–14:58
6
How could mid-decade redistricting change the 2026 midterm elections?
14:58–19:23
7
Can gerrymandering dilute votes and make voters feel elections are rigged?
19:23–22:22
8
What should voters watch for after the midterm election results?
22:22–26:53