{"id":31211,"date":"2026-08-07T15:22:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=31211"},"modified":"2026-08-07T15:22:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:22:48","slug":"trump-wont-drop-war-tariffs-or-monuments-to-save-the-gop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=31211","title":{"rendered":"Trump won&#039;t drop war, tariffs or monuments to save the GOP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read the polls, watch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/08\/05\/gdp-growth-trump-golden-age-predictions\" target=\"_blank\">economic indicators<\/a> and talk to President Trump&#8217;s inner circle in private, and the verdict on his second term seems clear:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Even some longtime insiders fear he&#8217;s trapped by a war he shouldn&#8217;t have waged, <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfoundation.org\/research\/all\/federal\/trump-tariffs-trade-war\/\" target=\"_blank\">tariffs<\/a> he shouldn&#8217;t have levied, monuments he shouldn&#8217;t be obsessed with.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Why it matters: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/authors\/barak_ravid\" target=\"_blank\">These<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/tariffs-25-supreme-court-import-taxes-120895adbee7ae06157cd5f4bf5c7583\" target=\"_blank\">three<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-arch-lincoln-memorial-arlington-e6bb1793d30922ad85eab3a10d12b632\" target=\"_blank\">topics<\/a> chew up much of Trump&#8217;s time and attention. All three are widely unpopular in polls.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<ul>\n<li>And it&#8217;s almost impossible to see the public suddenly warming to war, tariffs or more statues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>By the numbers:<\/strong> Trump&#8217;s approval cratered to an all-time low of 32% in a <a href=\"https:\/\/poll.qu.edu\/poll-release?releaseid=3964\" target=\"_blank\">Quinnipiac poll<\/a> last week. Even more damning: 68% of voters said he isn&#8217;t focused enough on the problems most Americans face.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Trump has squandered the GOP&#8217;s most durable political advantage: A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/democrats-lead-republicans-economy-trump-approval-falls-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-08-03\/\" target=\"_blank\">Reuters\/Ipsos poll<\/a> this week (and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/politics\/2026\/07\/23\/as-the-2026-midterms-approach-economy-is-front-and-center\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pew poll<\/a> last month) found voters split on which party is better for the economy \u2014 after Republicans had led on the issue for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/democrats-lead-republicans-economy-trump-approval-falls-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2026-08-03\/\" target=\"_blank\">nine years<\/a>, back to Trump&#8217;s first term. Republicans still <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-approval-rating-immigration-economy-iran-healthcare-f14da4276e2e0d5ec9b79f0d48e22788\" target=\"_blank\">back Trump<\/a> on immigration, a new <a href=\"https:\/\/apnorc.org\/projects\/trumps-approval-on-immigration-remains-steady\/\" target=\"_blank\">AP-NORC poll<\/a> shows.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Behind the scenes:<\/strong> New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman estimates 70% of the president&#8217;s mindshare goes to renovations and monuments. &#8220;It&#8217;s a legacy thing,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/07\/31\/opinion\/ezra-klein-podcast-maggie-haberman.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3FA.Fs3q.cJrfZACbMTlU&amp;smid=url-share\" target=\"_blank\">she told<\/a> her colleague Ezra Klein.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A Trump insider told us: &#8220;He concentrates on the hobbies that distract from his terrible <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/interactive\/trump-approval-tracker\" target=\"_blank\">polling numbers<\/a>, about which he is in denial. The other issue is how the war, tariffs and monuments are demoralizing the base.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>And we keep hearing complaints from top Republicans about Trump&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/07\/21\/maga-inc-cash-candidates-01006198\" target=\"_blank\">reluctance to unleash<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/trump-aligned-maga-inc-builds-stockpile-more-than-400-million-2026-07-21\/\" target=\"_blank\">$400 million cache<\/a> built by his super PAC, MAGA Inc. The unwillingness to spend big, <em>now,<\/em> in game-changing races has &#8220;demoralized donors,&#8221; the insider said.<\/li>\n<li>There&#8217;s a saying in politics that campaigns are won and lost in the summer. For Republicans, this was the Trump-induced summer of discontent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.axios.com\/17lTzAXavJZGFcBwZbyhItN4iG0=\/2026\/08\/07\/1786063044871.jpeg\"> <\/p>\n<div>President Trump uses a laser pointer on an airport model while unveiling planned Dulles renovations last week. Photo: Kylie Cooper\/Reuters<\/div>\n<p><strong>The big picture: <\/strong>Our reporting shows Trump has no desire to back off any of these topics, especially renovations and monuments, or shift to a new policy agenda before or after the November elections.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ahead of the midterms, he has poured political capital into another self-destructive fixation: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/06\/18\/trump-save-act-thune-senate\" target=\"_blank\">SAVE America Act<\/a>, which would impose national proof-of-citizenship and voter-ID <a href=\"https:\/\/bipartisanpolicy.org\/article\/five-things-to-know-about-the-save-act\/\" target=\"_blank\">requirements<\/a>. Republicans have told Trump, repeatedly, that the bill has no path through the Senate. They lack the 60 votes needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster \u2014 and the 51 Republican votes needed to abolish it. <\/li>\n<li>Trump has refused to accept that reality, instead whipping the MAGA base into a frenzy against Senate Majority Leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/07\/27\/donald-trump-john-thune-senate-republicans-save-act\" target=\"_blank\">John Thune<\/a> and other Republicans who won&#8217;t comply.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What to watch: <\/strong>Top congressional Republicans tell us <a href=\"https:\/\/www.natesilver.net\/p\/trump-approval-ratings-nate-silver-bulletin\" target=\"_blank\">Trump&#8217;s unpopularity<\/a> points toward the likely loss of the House, and perhaps the Senate. Some gently, indirectly, plead with him to shift to affordability or the economy. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>But an 80-year-old man who made the greatest comeback in American political history appears too proud, stubborn and undisciplined to change, Republicans privately admit.<\/li>\n<li>So rather than face the issues, Trump often pivots to showing visitors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/news-photo\/president-donald-trump-displays-a-rendering-of-his-proposed-news-photo\/2242668203?slot=3&amp;adppopup=true\" target=\"_blank\">renderings<\/a> of the new White House ballroom or a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/news-photo\/president-donald-trump-speaks-during-a-press-conference-news-photo\/2240810988?slot=2&amp;adppopup=true\" target=\"_blank\">model<\/a> of the planned <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WhiteHouse\/status\/2044476625308262457\" target=\"_blank\">Triumphal Arch<\/a>. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/news-photo\/model-of-the-new-air-force-one-plane-from-qatar-displayed-news-photo\/2286457872?slot=1&amp;adppopup=true\" target=\"_blank\">showcases<\/a> his new Air Force One, touts his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/washington-dc\/2026\/07\/30\/trump-dulles-airport-plan\" target=\"_blank\">plans for Dulles<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/wapo.st\/4fYGqQW\" target=\"_blank\">obsesses about<\/a> the helipad being built on the South Lawn.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The bottom line: <\/strong>&#8220;Sixth-year summers are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/2014\/12\/31\/7474379\/presidents-year-six-ranked\" target=\"_blank\">historically terrible<\/a> for presidents,&#8221; the insider said.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Axios&#8217; Marc Caputo and Zachary Basu contributed reporting.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/08\/02\/trump-gop-control-midterms-investigations\" target=\"_blank\">Go deeper<\/a>: &#8220;Trump&#8217;s final act,&#8221; from Jim&#8217;s political briefing for Axios C-Suite.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83d\udcc8 <em>If you&#8217;re a CEO or on a CEO&#8217;s team: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/newsletters\/c-suite?utm_medium=native&amp;utm_source=axios_article&amp;utm_campaign=csuite\" target=\"_self\">Ask to join<\/a> Jim&#8217;s new weekly Axios C-Suite newsletter.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Read the polls, watch economic indicators and talk to President Trump&#8217;s inner circle in private, and the verdict on his second term seems clear: Even some longtime insiders fear he&#8217;s trapped by a war he shouldn&#8217;t have waged, tariffs he shouldn&#8217;t have levied, monuments he shouldn&#8217;t be obsessed with. Why it matters: These three topics&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.axios.com\/17lTzAXavJZGFcBwZbyhItN4iG0=\/2026\/08\/07\/1786063044871.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}