The Daily Blast: Trump Ballroom Saga Takes Brutal Turn for GOP as Midterm Panic Worsens

The DSR Network

Chris Cotnoir

Government

4.5 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2026

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Donald Trump hasn’t thought this one through. Politico reports that Republicans are grappling with rising “anxiety” about the midterms. A key reason: Trump’s obsession with his ballroom and other pet projects is muddying the GOP economic message. That’s bad enough. Worse, Republicans just agreed to seek $1 billion in taxpayer money for the ballroom. Though this is allegedly for security, vulnerable Republicans will hate having to defend this. It’s not just that they themselves are lamenting that the project is distracting from their message. It’s also that the ballroom is already deeply unpopular and they’re now tied more tightly to it. We talked to political scientist Tom Schaller, author of a good piece on Trump’s “vanity presidency.” He explains why the ballroom is so deadly for the GOP, how Trump is creating a uniquely “personalist” form of presidential rule, and why Trump’s megalomania actually matters to the voters who will help decide midterms. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Some follow the noise.
0:03.3	Bloomberg follows the money.
0:05.4	Because behind every headline is a bottom line.
0:09.3	Whether it's the funds-fueling AI or crypto's trillion-dollar swings,
0:13.8	there's a money-side to every story.
0:16.5	And when you see the money-side, you understand what others miss.
0:20.9	Get the money-side of the story., you understand what others miss. Get the money side of the story.
0:22.9	Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com. This is the Daily Blast from the New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.
0:44.2	I'm your host, Greg Sargent.
0:50.5	Donald Trump's allies are privately warning that the GOP is in serious trouble in the midterms.
1:00.4	Politico reports that Trump's obsessions with his vanity projects, like his ballroom,
1:04.8	are distracting from the economic message that Republicans think is necessary to stave off a bloodbath.
1:13.0	So what did Trump do this week?
1:19.2	Well, he managed to get Republicans to seek $1 billion in taxpayer money for the ballroom.
1:25.9	He also rambled bizarrely about his support with MAGA voters, as if that somehow will matter in the midterms. Trump simply does not have any conception
1:29.9	of public service, of the presidency as an institution that belongs to the people. Is that itself
1:36.2	becoming a huge liability for the GOP? We're talking about all this with political scientist Tom
1:41.8	Schaller, who has a new piece for the public notice
1:44.4	substack on Trump's vanity presidency. Tom, good to have you on. Great to be back, Greg.
1:50.9	So I just want to start with something Trump said today about his polling and his public support.
1:55.5	Listen to this. I am, according to CNN, 100% approval within the Republican Party.
2:03.3	That's almost, that's better than your record.
	...

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