WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is blaming senior aides and political operatives for a midterm strategy that is faltering, three people familiar with internal discussions told Reuters.
Trump has questioned the campaign spending. He has also faulted redistricting and second-guessed candidate choices as Republicans fight to keep control of Congress, according to Reuters. Polls suggest Democrats will win the House. The Senate remains too close to call.
A House loss would slow Trump’s legislative agenda in the final two years of his term. It would also give Democrats subpoena power to investigate his administration.
Much of the friction centers on James Blair, the longtime aide who runs Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Trump has faulted Blair’s handling of campaign funds, Reuters reported, while some White House officials and allies have questioned Wiles’ oversight of the political operation.
The advisers have turned on each other as well. Wiles has pointed to Blair, one of the people said, while Blair has faulted the White House legislative affairs team.
“What’s really happening is a circular firing squad,”
On Friday, Trump defended Wiles, calling her “smart” and “tough.” “Susie is here, and she’s going to be here for a long time,” he said.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle rejected the sources’ account. He called them “armchair experts peddling their baseless speculation,” according to Reuters. Wiles did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump has asked why Republican polling in pivotal races has not improved despite MAGA Inc.’s spending. Public records put that spending at $200 million so far, and one source told Reuters it remains unclear whether Trump will approve more before the election.
In the past week, Trump has also pressed aides to explain why the redistricting effort he personally pushed has not produced clearer Republican gains. Texas is a particular concern, Reuters reported, because the redrawn map relies partly on Hispanic voters turning out as they did in 2024, support polls suggest may be hard to repeat.
“The redistricting diced up the Trump voters too much,” one of the sources said.
The friction spilled into public view after Blair and Chris LaCivita, who co-managed Trump’s 2024 campaign, traveled in early October to Republika Srpska, a self-governing region of Bosnia. The New York Times reported the men received substantial payments to advise the regional government ahead of local elections, according to Reuters.
Trump distanced himself from both men in an Oct. 7 post on Truth Social, describing them as “outside consultants.” He warned that if he found a conflict of interest, he would “terminate them, immediately!”
Senior White House officials questioned why Blair was doing lucrative work overseas while overseeing the final stretch of the Republican campaign, three people said. One person said Wiles approved the trip without informing Trump.
In a statement, Blair said: “All of this mudslinging is ridiculous, and counterproductive. President Trump and me are focused on helping Republicans win in November. Every other Republican should be doing the same.”
LaCivita said in a separate statement that Trump and his team “are and always have been focused on the midterms.”
Trump had said Blair was expected to return to the White House after the midterms, describing his departure as a “short leave of absence.” Two sources told Reuters that return now looks unlikely. “He’s not coming back. That is not happening,” one of them said.
How things play out for Wiles is less clear. A fourth source close to the White House said Trump “may be annoyed at certain things but she has effectively kept that machine going.”
Trump helped devise some of the strategies he is now questioning, including the redistricting effort and candidate choices shaped by his loyalties or grievances, Reuters reported. His approval rating sits at the lowest point of his presidency, weighed down by voter concern over high prices and dissatisfaction with the Iran war.
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