The Daily Blast: Trump Erupts at Speech Critics as Even Some GOPers Admit It Fell Short

The DSR Network

Chris Cotnoir

Government

4.5 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 26 February 2026

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On Wednesday, Donald Trump exploded wildly on Truth Social, ripping into Democrats Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who attacked him during his speech. He called them “Low IQ,” “mentally deranged,” and “LUNATICS,” and even savaged Robert De Niro, who also criticized the speech, as “sick and demented.” Trump hoped appeal to the middle, but he couldn’t help sliding back into full racism at his first opportunity. Meanwhile, even some Republicans found the speech wanting: One strategist said it wouldn’t help the party politically this fall, a second said it didn’t give enough to people who are “hurting,” and a conservative writer opined that it “wasn’t much of a game changer.” We talked to Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg, who had a mixed reaction. We discuss how Trump’s tirade exposes a deep tension in his approach to 2026, why he can’t let go of his tariffs and deportations, and how smarter GOP strategists really view that problem. We also discuss hidden reasons why this could still go badly for Democrats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:27.6	This is the Daily Blast from the New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.
0:46.5	I'm your host, Greg Sargent.
1:01.7	During his State of the Union speech, Donald Trump put on a big show of being focused on the middle of the country.
1:03.8	He worked really hard to not seem too crazy, avoided some of the hot button stuff that
1:09.0	he usually traffics in, and his appeals to the base seemed a bit less overt than usual.
1:14.7	But then on Wednesday, he exploded in a wild racist tirade at two non-white members of Congress.
1:21.7	And we think this tension captures the essence of this moment.
1:25.5	In some deep sense, Trump and certain of his advisors simply
1:29.2	cannot wean themselves off the race war and off the vile demonization of immigrants. And in fact,
1:36.2	some Republicans are admitting that the speech didn't move the needle enough to help in the midterms.
1:43.4	Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg had a mixed reaction to the speech.
1:48.0	He's optimistic about what's ahead, but he also thinks there are things to worry about.
	...

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