Are Republicans 'cooked'? WH official tells MS NOW GOP is worried about midterms

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May 4, 2026 #trump #politics #congress

President Trump's disapproval rating is at a record 62%, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News/IPSOS poll. A White House official told MS NOW that Republicans believe they are "cooked" for the midterms. MS NOW Reporter Jake Traylor is at the White House and MS NOW Reporter Alex Tabet is in Alabama speaking with voters. Politico White House Correspondent Eli Stokols and University of Michigan Professor of Economics Justin Wolfers join Ana Cabrera to discuss. MS NOW: My Source for News, Opinion, and the World. » Subscribe to MS NOW:

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Transcript

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1 second

Let's dive in with MSNOW's big traile at the White House.

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Our Alex Tabbit live from montgomery alabama politico's eli stochols and university of michigan economics professor justin wolfers jake this latest

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poll is just one in a long line of bad numbers for the president.

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There's also a Reuters Ipsos poll showing him at 64 % disapproval and APNORC poll has his disapproval at 67%.

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The midterms are now less than six months away.

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What's the White House plan to turn these numbers around so they don't impact Republicans on the ballot in November?

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Yeah, and how one White House official recently described it to me is they said in reference to the midterms, we already know that we're cooked.

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For our VIEWERS THAT MAYBE AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH THAT SLANG TERM, DOOMED OR IN SERIOUS TROUBLE.

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AND THROUGH SOME OF OUR REPORTING WITH MY MSNOW COLLEAGUES,

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WE FIGURED OUT FROM MULTIPLE WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS,

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THEY ARE AWARE OF JUST HOW much serious trouble they're in right now.

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In terms of what they're actually doing to make amends and to potentially make some inroads with voters, there is a plan to leverage some of

1 minute, 3 seconds

President Trump's super PAC pretty large war chest that they have to plug that into some key states here around Memorial Day weekend,

1 minute, 10 seconds

so to start spending more money.

1 minute, 12 seconds

There's also an initiative to move some folks from the White House that are key staffers here to more midterm focused roles.

1 minute, 20 seconds

Big Politico, you wouldn't know some of these names, but James Blair, Alex Meyer,

1 minute, 24 seconds

these are individuals that worked at the White House through the second administration and are now pivoting to help with the midterm process.

1 minute, 31 seconds

But ultimately, as we have these conversations with White House officials, a really consistent through line in terms of strategy is that their midterm plan was

1 minute, 38 seconds

to really pivot from war conversation.

1 minute, 42 seconds

Increasingly, they're finding Americans are connecting the fact that high gas prices, high grocery prices are connected to the war. They wanted to pivot to other conversations,

1 minute, 51 seconds

affordability, things about the economy, domestic issues.

1 minute, 54 seconds

The problem with that, White House officials tell us,

1 minute, 56 seconds

is Americans know that those things are interlinked.

1 minute, 59 seconds

They're struggling to pivot the conversation when it all goes back to the war. Let's look at the numbers again, Eli.

2 minutes, 5 seconds

Cost of living, inflation, war with Iran, international relations, the economy,

2 minutes, 14 seconds

WE HAVE A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS DISAPPROVE OF ALL OF THAT.

2 minutes, 19 seconds

HAVE WE SEEN NUMBERS LIKE PEOPLE LIKE THIS BEFORE?

2 minutes, 22 seconds

WELL, WE'VE SEEN LOW APPROVAL NUMBERS FOR THE LAST ADMINISTRATION AND FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP'S FIRST TERMS ESPECIALLY IN 2020 DURING THE PANDEMIC SO THIS IS

2 minutes, 31 seconds

AN UNPRECEDENTED BUT JAKE IS RIGHT AND YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T PIVOT AWAY FROM THE WAR WHEN YOU CAN'T END THE WAR WHEN YOU CAN'T FIGURE OUT A

2 minutes, 40 seconds

DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION TO WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE STRAIGHT OF HORMUZE TO MAKE SOME HEADWAY IN TERMS OF BRINGING PRICES BACK DOWN.

2 minutes, 47 seconds

I THINK, YOU KNOW, THOSE NUMBERS, THOSE POLL NUMBERS,

2 minutes, 50 seconds

THAT REFLECTS A PUBLIC THAT IS LOOKING AT THIS PRESIDENT and saying, this is really not what we had in mind.

2 minutes, 57 seconds

This is a president who was elected because there was a general sense that he would be better on the economy.

3 minutes, 1 second

This is a president who was elected because people thought he wouldn't get bogged down in foreign wars, and yet here HERE WE ARE, YOU KNOW,

3 minutes, 8 seconds

THE PRESIDENT HEARD THIS FROM MEMBERS OF HIS OWN PARTY.

3 minutes, 11 seconds

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREEN, THE FORMER CONGRESSWOMAN WAS OUTSPOKEN ABOUT THIS, SAYING STOP FOCUSING ON ALL THESE OTHER THINGS ON FOREIGN POLICY AND START WORRYING ABOUT PEOPLE'S COST OF LIVING,

3 minutes, 21 seconds

HE SAID THAT MARJORIE TAYLOR GREEN HAD LOST HER WAY, RIGHT? HE'S NOT HEARING THAT MESSAGE. HE'S NOT HEARING A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF FEEDBACK FROM INSIDE THE ADMINISTRATION.

3 minutes, 30 seconds

AND SO WHAT YOU'RE LEFT WITH THE PEOPLE THAT I'M GOING WITH IS THE PRESIDENT,

3 minutes, 32 seconds

THE TREASURY SECRETARY, OTHER ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS.

3 minutes, 35 seconds

BASICALLY THEIR RESPONSE ON COST OF LIVING ISSUES IS GAS PRICES WILL COME DOWN THAT'S NOT ALL THAT REASSURING AND THAT'S NOT WHAT ANALYSTS,

3 minutes, 44 seconds

WHAT ENERGY INDUSTRY ANALYSTS ARE SAYING AS WELL.

3 minutes, 47 seconds

SO I THINK YOU CAN SEE WHY THE PUBLIC IS FRUSTRATED WHEN and they thought they were getting one thing,

3 minutes, 53 seconds

and instead they're getting more wars and a giant ballroom project.

3 minutes, 56 seconds

And Justin, when you look at just the economic numbers,

3 minutes, 59 seconds

only 34 % of Americans approve of the president's handling of the economy. while 65 % disapprove. only gets worse from there.

4 minutes, 8 seconds

Inflation, 27 % approve. % disapprove. Cost of living, 23 % approve.

4 minutes, 15 seconds

And a whopping 76 % disapprove.

4 minutes, 17 seconds

Justin, is the economy as bad as this poll suggests? The economy's not that bad.

4 minutes, 25 seconds

It's people's faith in the future of the economy that's that bad.

4 minutes, 28 seconds

Economic growth is definitely slowed over the last two quarters.

4 minutes, 31 seconds

We're running roughly at about half the speed you might be expecting, but we're not in a recession.

4 minutes, 36 seconds

What you're seeing there is the sorts of confidence numbers you would expect if the economy had gone deeply south. Why do you see that?

4 minutes, 43 seconds

It's because we do face economic challenges.

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That's not new, but it's that all of our economic challenges right now are self-inflicted. We didn't need to start a trade war.

4 minutes, 53 seconds

We didn't need to go to war with the Federal Reserve. We didn't need to go to war at Iran.

4 minutes, 58 seconds

We didn't need to go to war at Iran without having a plan for oil or for any form of energy,

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keeping folks insulated from the worst of ABLE TO DO THIS.

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ALEX, YOU'VE BEEN TALKING TO PEOPLE AS THEY FILL UP THEIR TANKS,

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GAS NOW UP NEARLY $1 .50 SINCE THE START OF THIS WAR. WHAT ARE YOU WHAT ARE YOU HEARING?

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IT REALLY MATTERS WHO YOU'RE SPEAKING TO HERE IN MONTGOMERY. OF COURSE, ALABAMA, RUBY RED.

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WE'VE BEEN TALKING TO A LOT OF TRUMP SUPPORTERS WHO TELL US THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO PUT PUT UP WITH THESE PRICES,

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WHO BELIEVE IN THE LONG-TERM PLAN OF THE PRESIDENT, WHO BELIEVE THAT THIS WAR IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE COUNTRY AND OUR NATIONAL SECURITY.

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BUT EVERY PERSON THAT WE'VE SPOKEN TO WHO HASN'T VOTED FOR THE PRESIDENT,

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WHO WHO EITHER VOTED DEMOCRAT IN THE PAST OR SAT OUT ELECTIONS OR VOTED INDEPENDENT HAS EXPRESSED A DEGREE OF ECONOMIC EXASPERATION

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THAT IS JUST GETTING STRONGER and stronger with every conversation that we have with people.

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I want you to hear what one man had to tell me earlier this morning. We all got to live just like he has to live.

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So keep that in mind. He represents everybody, all of us, poor, rich, black, white.

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He represents all of us.

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Do you think he understands what poor people in America are going through right now? Not really. No.

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I don't think so. Do you think he cares? going on, apparently he doesn't.

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And Ana, the sense of disenfranchisement, it's quite pervasive in Alabama right now,

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especially as the state legislature here is about to go into a special session,

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is about to draw new congressional maps with the goal of getting rid of democratic seats here.

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And that's what's making a lot of people feel just like that man felt like he's not being heard, He's not being understood by the president,

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by the Republican Party, and by the government writ large. Ana?

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Jake, as the president faces these plummeting approval ratings, he is standing by his decision.

7 minutes, 11 seconds

to get the U .S. into a war with Iran. Let's listen. I did something that was, I don't know, foolish,

7 minutes, 19 seconds

brave, but it was smart. I would do it again. He would do it again.

7 minutes, 25 seconds

Administration officials say once the strait opens, Americans will see immediate relief.

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Jake, does the administration have a timeline for that? I mean, Ana, they did. It expired three to four weeks ago, their initial estimates.

7 minutes, 38 seconds

And we've continued to see the White House and the administration continue to shift.

7 minutes, 42 seconds

And we've also heard the president continue to say to the American people, hold on a little bit longer. We've heard from some of Alex's conversations, people are getting tired of holding on,

7 minutes, 50 seconds

I will say new today the United States military says that they have successfully guided two commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz safely guided by American warships.

7 minutes, 59 seconds

This is all part of Trump's newly announced initiative,

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Project Freedom to try and get ships safely through the Strait of Hormuz.

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But that also comes as Iran has threatened to attack any vessels that are moving through the Strait without the cooperation of the Iranian in government.

8 minutes, 16 seconds

And that also comes on up against this new peace proposal that Iran sent over to the United States, that Iran has said Trump has rejected.

8 minutes, 23 seconds

Trump earlier a couple of days ago saying that Iran has not paid a big enough price yet. alluding to this war continuing on.

8 minutes, 30 seconds

It's interesting the public and private conversations because publicly there's still this large projection of confidence.

8 minutes, 35 seconds

Privately, as we have conversations with White House officials, they are saying they are keenly aware of how pivotal it is that the straight open as quickly as possible.

8 minutes, 44 seconds

That is the direct line and key to get gas prices down.

8 minutes, 48 seconds

But in this moment, it's a really pivotal and sticky sticking point in these ongoing GOING NEGOTIATIONS. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE OIL, BABY.

8 minutes, 57 seconds

JUSTIN, OPEC NOW SAYING THAT GROUP WILL PUT OUT ROUGHLY 190 ,000 BARRELS OF OIL A DAY BY JUNE. SO THEY'RE GOING TO OPEN IT UP.

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THAT'S STILL A MONTH AWAY.

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WILL WILL THAT TRANSLATE TO LOWER GAS PRICES AND JUST HOW QUICKLY? IT'S NOT ENOUGH JUST TO PRODUCE MORE OIL.

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YOU'VE STILL GOT TO BE ABLE TO GET IT THROUGH THE STRAIGHT. THAT CONSTRAINT DOESN'T CHANGE.

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THE BEST WAY TO track expectations about the future is to look we've got futures markets where people are literally buying and selling oil for delivery in a few months time.

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Just before I came on the program,

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Anna, I looked up the November 2026 futures market Obviously that's politically important,

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November But it's also just where are things in a few months' time And what that tells you is that That oil future is as high as it's ever been

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And so that's the market essentially saying what's its level of optimism or pessimism about resolving things reasonably soon and it's quite pessimistic.

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It sees it being very difficult to get oil to most of the rest of the world even through the rest of the year.

9 minutes, 59 seconds

Wow Alex as we just heard there it's gonna be a minute until the economy is able to shake off the dust of this war and again even

10 minutes, 6 seconds

if it were to end immediately how are people planning to make it through this?

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We've heard people say that they're walking instead of driving, that they're carpooling, that they're budgeting, buying less at the grocery store.

10 minutes, 19 seconds

I remember last week somebody told me he needs to decide each day if he's going to drive or eat and that's because people feel like their cost of living is just,

10 minutes, 30 seconds

or their wages are just not keeping up with their cost of living. I want you to hear from Sherman Herbert.

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He's an Amazon delivery worker and a member of the Army Reserve about how he's feeling in this economic moment.

10 minutes, 44 seconds

Do you think it's affordable to live in America right now? not like it used to be.

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It's like things are, the cost is going up,

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but what we make an hour or what you make on the job is not, the price is not going up. Like minimum wage and all that,

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it could be a little better for the help out with IT'S HARD OUT HERE IF YOU'RE NOT MAKING AT LEAST A GOOD 20 HOUR, YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD.

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AND ON SHERMAN'S frustration is just one of many stories that we've been hearing all morning here in Montgomery, Alabama.

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