Trump-GOP Tensions Erupt as 2026 Panic Grows: “I’m Ringing the Alarm”

THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent

The New Republic

News, Politics

4.4 • 800 Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2026

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Republicans are reportedly “incensed” at Donald Trump for pushing them to pass voter suppression measures when they don’t have the votes for it. Yet he’s raging at them over this almost daily, openly declaring that making voting harder is the only way to salvage the midterms. Republicans want to focus on the economy, but Trump won’t let them, and Politico now reports that worsening GOP losses in state-level races has them very worried about the elections. One operatives says: “I’m ringing the alarm.” We talked to Tara McGowan, a former Democratic strategist and publisher of the progressive news site Courier. She explains why Trump’s demand for voter suppression has the GOP in a trap, why his bad economy, widely hated deportations and war-of-choice in Iran are worsening GOP chances, and why Democratic energy on the ground will likely remain supercharged through the fall. 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	This is the Daily Blast from the New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.
0:16.4	I'm your host, Greg Sargent.
0:31.1	Republican senators are privately very upset with Donald Trump and MAGA.
0:36.7	They don't understand why Trump keeps prodding them to pass voter suppression legislation when they don't have the votes to get it done.
0:39.8	In fact, Republicans fear that their string of losses at the state level bodes very badly for the
0:45.2	midterms and they really want to focus on the economy. Trump won't let them. We think this is a
0:51.7	telling moment because it shows that Republicans really do expect to face real elections this fall.
0:57.6	And it doesn't look like Trump can get his way and cheat his way through this.
1:02.2	Is that too optimistic?
1:04.0	We're talking about all this with Tara McGowan, a former Dem strategist who's a shrewd observer of politics as the publisher of Courier News.
1:12.0	Tara, nice to have you on.
1:13.8	Always good to be with you, Greg.
1:15.5	So Trump wants Republicans to pass the SAVE Act, which is a truly disgusting piece of voter suppression legislation.
1:22.3	It's already passed the House, but doesn't have close to 60 votes to pass the Senate.
1:29.1	Trump and MAGA want Republicans in the Senate to use a talking filibuster to pass it. Tara, can you explain how this Trump-Maga
1:34.7	strategy is supposed to work? I can do my best, Craig. Just trying to explain any Trump-led
1:42.7	strategies these days is very difficult.
1:46.0	The SAVE Act is horrific voter suppression.
1:48.9	The issue at hand now is that after it passed the House, John Thune, the majority leader of the
1:54.3	Republican Party in the Senate, has said repeatedly and explicitly, he does not have the
1:58.9	votes to get the SAVE Act bill passed. That is making
2:02.4	the president and the administration increasingly desperate, and they are calling first to get
	...

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