Trump's retribution tour seeks new, more loyal MAGA guard
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President Trump is building a fiercely loyal midterm army amid a revenge tour where MAGA credentials appear to outshine traditional conservatism.
Why it matters: The president's victory lap following primary wins that ousted several objectors to his agenda could be premature, as there's no guarantee his endorsed candidate will win in November.
- However, if candidates do succeed in the midterms, the next group of MAGA politicians will be shaped even further in Trump's image. Dissenters in Congress will be few and far between.
Context: Trump has maintained considerable control over MAGA during the primaries, even as his general approval plummets.
- Trump-backed Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton trounced longtime Sen. John Cornyn (R) Tuesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) lost to the president's endorsed candidate Ed Gallrein in a historically expensive race. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) also lost his primary earlier this month.
- Cornyn, Massie and Cassidy had all earned MAGA's ire at various points, with the president calling Massie a "moron" and Cassidy a "sleazebag."
- Other Republicans who frustrated or angered the president, like Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), decided to end their Hill tenures on their own terms.
Yes, but: Cassidy could serve as a cautionary tale of the legislative repercussions of the president interfering to turn an incumbent into a not-so-lame duck.
- After his loss, Cassidy voted to advance a measure to curb Trump's war powers in Iran for the first time and openly spoke out against his $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund.
Still, Trump keeps threatening Republicans — and is already setting his sights on 2028 targets.
- "Maybe he doesn't think he needs us," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said last week, per Alaska Public Media. "But I don't know. Last I checked, the laws don't just appear before his desk to be signed."
- White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Axios in a statement that Trump "is the unequivocal leader and best messenger for the Republican Party, and he is committed to maintaining Republican majorities in Congress moving forward."
- She added that Americans "expect Republicans in the 119th Congress to keep delivering on the clear America First mandate voters issued."
What we're watching: The president's candidates of choice could face a steep climb to Capitol Hill.
- "I think MAGA goes in so hardcore in the primary that when it's time to pivot to all general election voters, it doesn't necessarily land well," Brittany Martinez, the executive director of Principles First and strategist with years of experience with Congressional Republicans, told Axios.
- In Texas, the GOP now feels the need to pour far more money into the race than if it were Cornyn opposing Talarico.
- "It's pretty clear to me that he's [Trump] just worried about himself and his own legacy, and his own legacy does not mean the Republican Party, it means Donald Trump, and I think that's really unhelpful for the sustainability of the party in the long term," Martinez says.
The bottom line: Trump has won many of his primary battles. But the war is months away — and there are plenty of Capitol Hill clashes to come.
