For the most part, it has worked: The atmosphere of fear surrounding the Stable Genius’ cult of personality has kept Republicans from criticizing him even when they think he’s wrong. However, writing in Public Notice, Paul Waldman notes that many Republican politicians and influencers are now breaking with him, or at the very least fighting amongst themselves in ways that weaken his movement. Most of the following comes directly from his article.
After months of resisting the release of the Epstein files, the Stable Genius faced a revolt from his own party in Congress, where both houses voted nearly unanimously for a bill to force a release, which he then signed.
Ideas he has floated recently, including 50-year mortgages and $2,000 checks given to Americans supposedly from tariff revenue, have not resounded in Congress, and few members come out to back them. His demand to eliminate the filibuster has received little support from Republicans in the Senate.
His apparent interest in invading Venezuela has caused a negative reaction from supporters who believed him when he said he wanted to break with our history of foreign adventurism. Republican officeholders have begun raising questions about the Pentagon murdering alleged drug smugglers by the dozens without providing any evidence of who they were or what legal authority the administration is operating under. Sen. Rand Paul, for one, said, “I think you’ll see a splintering and a fracturing of the movement that has supported the president” if he invades Venezuela.
While Republican legislators in Texas saluted and followed his order to redraw their congressional maps, Republicans in Indiana said "no" despite intense pressure from the White House. While it received less coverage, Republicans in Nebraska and Kansas also declined to redraw their maps to eliminate Democratic seats.
The Stable Genius has championed the unfettered development of artificial intelligence, but many on the right are wary of the technology and the tech companies creating it. When news broke that he wants to prevent the states from adopting AI regulations, state-level Republicans pushed back.
The right is currently being torn apart over the question of how friendly it should be to Nazis. While the Stable Genius’ own position on the question is a bit muddled, his administration is teeming with white nationalists.
Some Republicans are even worried about backlash from the administration’s nationwide campaign of masked thuggery. In response to the recent invasion of North Carolina, former Gov. Pat McCrory told Politico, “From a PR and political standpoint, for the first time, immigration is maybe having a negative impact on my party.”
The Stable Genius had an Oval Office meeting with New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist. Rather than calling the Mamdani a vile communist to his face like he did in multiple tweets, the president couldn’t have been friendlier. “I think you’re going to have hopefully a really great mayor,” he said. “The better he does, the happier I am, I will say.”
That meeting and the Stable Genius' embrace of the mayor-elect had supporters reeling. Steve Bannon shared a long lament about how “heartbroken” the base was, and a Fox Business analyst posted, “I really think the wheels are coming off" the Stable Genius' presidency.
Punchbowl News reports that MTG’s displeasure is just the tip of the iceberg in the Republican caucus in the House. The White House, one anonymous GOP member told them, “has treated ALL members like garbage … More explosive early resignations are coming. It’s a tinder box. Morale has never been lower.”
The most immediate explanation for why all this dissension and displeasure is roiling to the surface is that the Stable Genius is extremely unpopular right now — especially on the economy, the issue every elected official rightly fears.
The cracks are starting to show in the Stable Genius' facade and, just like Jericho, the walls will soon come tumbling down.
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