BS BULLETIN:
- Trump amplified a blistering warning that Republicans are “f*cking up” and voters aren’t seeing the reforms they expected.
- Karoline Leavitt was asked Thursday whether Trump is “washing his hands” of Republicans if they lose Congress.
- Her answer: Absolutely not. Trump is hitting the road and raising money to help the GOP win.
President Donald Trump appears to have found a new campaign strategy for congressional Republicans: Do something.
On Thursday, outgoing White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was confronted with Trump’s decision to amplify a rather spectacular warning to the GOP — one that accused Republicans of “f*cking up” badly enough to be headed toward a midterm reckoning.
A reporter asked Leavitt whether Trump was effectively “washing his hands” of Republicans losing control of Congress in November. Not exactly. “The President is wholeheartedly committed to helping Republicans across the board retain the majority,” Leavitt responded.
Q: Yesterday the president amplified a post that said ‘I don’t think the GOP fully grasps how badly they are F-ing up right now.’ Is he washing his hands of Republicans?
LEAVITT: The president is wholeheartedly committed to helping Republicans across the board pic.twitter.com/ZjAJttVsTn
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 27, 2026
She pointed to the administration’s tax cuts and other accomplishments before noting that Trump was heading to Texas Thursday and would continue campaigning and raising money for Republicans. “He’ll continue to go across the country, meet with everyday Americans, and push his message until the very last day,” Leavitt said.
But nobody should mistake Trump’s willingness to campaign for Republicans with satisfaction over what Republicans in Washington have accomplished. The fireworks began Wednesday when Trump shared a July post from MAGA influencer Matt Van Swol containing a laundry list of frustrations with congressional Republicans.
“I don’t think the GOP fully grasp how badly they are f*cking up right now,” Van Swol wrote.
And it got considerably worse from there. He said ordinary people who normally pay little attention to politics are “legitimately pissed off” because they aren’t seeing the sweeping reforms they believed a Republican Washington would deliver.
Among his complaints: “No true accountability,” no meaningful reduction in the deficit, too much vacation and too little work. Then came the questions that probably made a few Republican senators uncomfortable: “Where are all the DOGE cuts that were promised? Where is the SAVE ACT?”
Van Swol warned Republicans that voters believed they were electing Washington to implement the Trump agenda, but instead “many feel like they’re getting the same old Washington.” “If Republicans in Congress don’t start producing tangible results,” he warned, voter frustration will have consequences.
Trump apparently thought the message was worth sharing. And this isn’t the first time he has separated himself from congressional Republicans when talking about an increasingly restless GOP electorate. Earlier this month, Trump told Punchbowl News he wasn’t certain whether his voters would turn out in November.
“The question is, will they vote?” Trump said. “Because a lot of them are very angry at Republicans, to be honest with you.”
Asked why, Trump replied: “I don’t know. I mean, they’re angry at Republicans, but they’re not angry at me.”
But Trump isn’t abandoning the GOP. He’s heading to Houston Thursday for a Republican fundraising event and is scheduled to headline the RNC’s unusual midterm convention in Dallas next month. So this looks considerably less like Trump washing his hands of Republicans than Trump grabbing them by the collar.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Mediaite — Karoline Leavitt confronted about Trump sharing a post saying the GOP is “f*cking up”
- Mediaite — Trump shares warning that Republicans are headed toward a “midterm reckoning”
- Roll Call/Factba.se — Trump: “They’re not angry at me, but they are angry at Republicans”
- ABC News — Trump heads to Texas for Aug. 27 Republican fundraiser
