President Donald Trump gathered more than a hundred small business leaders at the White House on Monday to promote the tax cuts included in his “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Some of his close aides worry that the president is wasting time.
With gas prices hitting record highs and Trump’s approval rating hovering around 37 percent, it’s time for Republicans to go after the Democrats, GOP activists insist.
And while Trump has never shied away from blaming the opposition, especially his predecessors, his tendency to stray from his message — talking about the new White House ballroom, the reflecting pool or the construction of his “Victory Arch” — is worsening the negative message, with aides insisting the White House needs to step up the decline.
“You tell people you voted for a tax cut, and they say, ‘That’s good, that’s good.’ …But what they didn’t tell voters was, every Democrat in the House and Senate voted to raise your taxes,” Trump pollster John McLaughlin said. “You’ll see Republicans being more aggressive about conflict with Democrats, whether it’s implementing workfare this year, whether it’s eliminating corruption in food stamps and other things like Medicaid.”
The push comes as Republicans have grown concerned about their midterm prospects. Holding the House looks unlikely — even with redistricting in several Southern states following the Supreme Court’s recent Voting Rights Act decision. And his hold on the Senate appears weak.
“Everyone is quite realistic about the fact that it is going to be extremely difficult to take over the House,” said a person close to the White House, speaking on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly. “Every day the war goes on, every day gas prices hover around five bucks, it becomes less and less likely, and it’s already very, very unlikely.”
This is why there is a growing demand to promote negative rhetoric even at the expense of publicizing some of the President’s achievements. This isn’t a particularly new play — campaigns generally turn negative the closer to an election — but calls for it have been rampant already in the cycle as the Iran war and oil prices make it difficult for the administration to sell a rosy economic picture.
Many Republicans, including the President, are hoping for a quick end to the war and a decline in gas prices. But now that there is no end in sight and the summer driving season is upon us, attention has shifted elsewhere.
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said, “You can start talking about how they’re for open borders or for higher taxes. Remind people that there will be consequences. You may not like what they have but you’ll hate what they do.” “Scare tactics are always tried and true. It works.”
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wells, pointing to Democrats’ record on border security, the economy and crime and their opposition to the Big Beautiful Bill, said Trump “will continue to pursue his common-sense agenda and a sharp contrast with the radical Democrats in Congress.”
“The Democrats’ anti-America policies nearly destroyed our country during Biden’s failed years, and President Trump has reversed their failures and is working every day to lower costs for working families,” Wells said.
Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee insists the GOP has the time and talent to talk up tax cuts and attack Democrats, and there is no immediate need for a course correction.
RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Pels said, “Democrats aren’t just opposing tax cuts for working families – they’re repeating the same failed agenda that has created record-high gas prices, skyrocketing inflation and fewer opportunities for American workers and small businesses.” “While President Trump is focused on reducing costs and strengthening the economy, Democrats are focused on their deranged agenda of opposing President Trump, even if it means blocking relief for working families.”
But the polling is highlighting fear among White House aides. Trump’s approval rating recently reached a new high Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/03/trump-approval-ratings-poll/","_Identification": :"0000019d-f517-d523-a7df-f5f7c3090004","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-f517-d523-a7df-f5f7c3090005","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll. And economic concerns are troubling 18 to 34 year olds","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/04/young-voters-midterms-trump-00905296","_Identification": :"0000019d-f517-d523-a7df-f5f7c3090006","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-f517-d523-a7df-f5f7c3090007","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>Advancing youth aged 18 to 34 According to a survey by the non-partisan organization Generation Lab, the Democratic Party It shows that young Americans plan to vote Democratic in November by a margin of 52 percent to 19 percent.
“The part of the messaging equation that we, our side, have to do better is that they have to talk about how the Dems and (former President Joe) Biden were responsible for the problems we inherited,” said one Republican campaign strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak candidly. “You didn’t hear a Democrat or (Barack) Obama talk about the economy in 2012 without mentioning George Bush 17 times. My advice on all these things is always to attack.”
Some White House aides, after months of advocating for a stronger contrary message, have said the administration has finally begun to make changes. McLaughlin described it as a fundamental — but “positive” — change from the beginning of the year in things like welfare work requirements, fraud in the Medicaid and food stamp programs, and Democrats’ opposition to tax cuts.
“If you talk to the NRCC, they’re moving around,” said one Republican donor and fundraiser, adding that the White House “is moving away from trying to sell its accomplishments to the Democrats, which are bad.” The change is a bad sign for how the Trump team is feeling about the midterms “because when you go negative, it means you’re behind,” the person said.
The NRCC pushed back at that characterization, arguing that it has been on the attack against Democrats for a long time, but that people also want to hear a positive economic message. It launched a paid ad campaign on Tax Day last month targeting 28 vulnerable House Democrats for voting against the Big Beautiful bill.
NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said, “The NRCC makes decisions based on data and polling, not emotions, which is why we oust the chattering class. The NRCC is working closely with the White House and our battle-tested Republican candidates to convince vulnerable House Democrats to support the largest tax increase since World War II, raising taxes at every income level, fully taxing tips, and eliminating the child tax credit. Can be defeated.”
Still, not everyone agrees that the White House’s messaging is happening fast enough — or that the president has the discipline to execute it. During his Monday speech, which was ostensibly about small businesses, the President detailed how he has aced several cognitive tests and talked about the ongoing work to paint the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
Republicans are looking for “consistent messaging execution around small economic gains,” not from the president, said one GOP strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly.
“Throwing bombs works when you’re in the minority,” the man said, “not when you’re in charge.”
