“Once Bitten, Twice Shy.”

You have to watch out for a cornered rat... that is when they are most dangerous!

The GOP wants to talk about crime, immigration and trans issues. Voters don’t

CNN

Aaron Blake

Sept 26, 2026

Republican former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz summed up a large portion of the GOP’s midterm message this week when he responded to a man who said he was voting Democratic for the first time ever.

“I hate the war too,” Gaetz told the man on X. “But the Democrats want to trans your kids.”

The trans issue seemed to be a potent one in the 2024 election — President Donald Trump’s team cut an effective ad that professed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was “for they/them. President Trump is for you.” But a new CNN poll this week suggests that playbook won’t be as effective this time.

“Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

And that seems to be the case for several other red-meat GOP issues, as well. Republicans have well-established topics that voters favor them on — and that they’ve sought to focus on. But, right now, polls show those aren’t voters’ top priorities.

“Don’t let the shiny object distract you.”

In a Gallup poll this is what they found...

• Economy — 90% extremely/very important
• Democracy — 85%
• Immigration — 72%
• Education — 85%
• Healthcare — 79%
• Crime — 75%
• Abortion — 66%
• Transgender rights — 38% 

And in a Pew Research poll they found... that when .asked what single issue they most wanted congressional candidates to talk about, 29% named the economy, 7% immigration, 5% health care, and 9% government ethics/reform. We didn't even make the list of responses.

“Smoke and mirrors.” 

“Pay attention to what they don’t want you looking at.”

The voters are not hearing what they want to hear: how are they going to fix the economy?

Then Trump says, “Vote like I’m on the ballot!”

I'll tell you, that probably turned off a lot of voters, and many Republicans are trying to step away from Trump.

As election enters its final stretch, some Republicans are distancing from Trump

NPR | By Elena Moore

September 25, 2026

There's a rare thing happening inside President Trump's Republican Party: dissent.

The president has long insisted on loyalty, but in recent weeks, a growing number of Republican candidates and elected officials have distanced themselves from core pieces of his agenda: from calling for an end to the U.S. war with Iran and relief from high prices, to criticizing his handling of key agenda issues like immigration.

It comes at a critical moment for the GOP. With less than 40 days until voting ends, the party is scrambling to hold onto a slim majority in Congress, where control of both the Senate and House of Representatives could come down to just a handful of toss-up races.

Trump's presence in the midterms looms large. He has repeatedly told voters to vote like he is on the ballot, despite facing historically low approval ratings. That could backfire, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, which finds that a plurality of registered voters, 45%, and a majority of independents, view their vote as a vote against Trump.

“When the same distraction keeps appearing, start asking what it’s distracting you from.”

On Tuesday, Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis, who isn't up for reelection until 2030, released a letter urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., after ProPublica reported that a Russian oligarch financed large portions of a lavish party to celebrate his wedding.

My worry is what he will if he feels that he's losing... Will he do something with ICE? The National Guard? What will a caged animal do?