Dem
47
GOP
53
Politico had an item yesterday headlined "Donald Trump's revenge tour might not end in 2026." The author suggests that Trump is going to be even more aggressive in trying to destroy his "enemies" in 2028, as he seeks to leave office with the Republican Party fully converted into the Trumpublican Party.
There is a somewhat substantial list of Republican Senators who are up in 2028, and who have challenged Trump, on occasion, including Lisa Murkowski (AK), Todd Young (IN), Rand Paul (KY), and John Thune (SD). You can also put Chuck Grassley (IA) on that list, if you think he's actually going to run for a ninth term at the age of 95 (shades of Strom Thurmond). If Trump applies the patented John Cornyn "Not Sufficiently Loyal" test, then nearly every Republican, with only a few exceptions, could be in hot water.
Truth be told, we can't imagine a scenario—short of Trump's dying or otherwise becoming incapacitated—in which he doesn't spend his last year-plus in office trying to pick off the senators (and representatives) he doesn't like. Beyond wanting to leave his stamp on the party, crushing people makes him feel good. It's even better when it's someone who licked his boots, like Cornyn did, because it makes Trump look gangster, like Keyser Soze. Plus, particularly if this year's midterms return a Democratic House, what else is Trump going to do with his time between Jan. 2027 and Jan. 2029? Certainly not pass any legislation. It is true that derailing electable U.S. Senators in favor of less electable challengers is not good for the Party, but Trump doesn't even care about that happening while he's still in office. He certainly won't care about it happening after he leaves.
The real question, then, is not whether Trump will try it, but whether he will have success. Certainly the takedowns of this year, most obviously John Cornyn and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), have Trump feeling good about his chances. However, he will also be 2 years closer to lame duck status than he is now, and he will also likely be more unpopular. Further, Republican donors, and some Republican operatives, have been willing to play Trump's game this year when the GOP has a 3-seat margin of error in the Senate. What if that drops to 1 seat, or 0, or -1? They may be less willing to play the game then.
Our crystal ball is too murky for us to know how this will play out. The only thing we are certain about is that it can only help the Democrats if Trump continues his curious practice of rat**cking his own political party. (Z)