STATE OF MONDAY: Republicans Have A Trump Dilemma. What Comes Next Is Harder

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Hey everyone,

Welcome to State of the Day,

As Election Day inches closer, the Republican Party’s post-midterm future is coming into focus.

Republicans Have A Trump Dilemma. What Comes Next Is Harder

Say you’re running as a Republican in 2026. Do you align yourself with the president in hopes of earning support from the base that helped him win the White House last time around, or do you distance yourself from the administration, hoping to appeal to independents and disaffected Republicans?

Well, there’s no perfect answer. In fact, from a purely electoral perspective, it’s probably best to do a bit of both — walk the line, if you will.

A Friday Politico poll found that a quarter of Trump voters want Republicans to break with President Donald Trump to win. Half want candidates to remain close to the commander-in-chief. And the last quarter can’t make up their minds.

Quite the Trumpian pickle.

The trouble is that this isn’t just a question of how much Trump a candidate can afford to embrace this cycle. It’s a question of what comes after Trump, and what American conservatism will look like when the president is no longer the standalone, defining figure on the right.

For nearly a decade, Republicans have been able to define themselves largely by their relationship with Trump. But loyalty to one man is not a governing philosophy, and sooner or later, the party will have to reckon with that distinction.

Nov. 3 is barreling toward us, and candidates can only spend so much time calculating their proximity to the president.

Eventually, they’ll have to decide what they stand for and what the future of their party will look like.

Will the next generation of elected conservatives support or oppose sprawling data centers?

Will they back federal AI regulations or leave the industry to regulate itself?

Where will they draw the line between mass surveillance and individual liberties?

Will they favor an interventionist or isolationist approach to foreign policy?

When the interests of corporations clash with the interests of the average American, whose side will they take?

These aren’t exactly small questions, and their answers will shape the future of American conservatism, determining not just what the Republican Party campaigns on, but what it actually accomplishes.

Trump has taken positions on some of these issues. Others remain unsettled. His eventual departure from the political stage won’t resolve these debates. If anything, it’ll bring them into sharper focus.

Of course, getting there means navigating the present political environment where Trump still makes politicians and breaks them.

And none of these questions about the party’s future will matter much to candidates if they can’t win their elections anyway.

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That means maintaining a careful balance between a president who commands fierce loyalty among a vital part of the GOP base and disaffected voters signaling they are ready for something different.

Breaking with Trump could alienate the one group; sticking too close to him could scorn the rest.

So the question facing Republicans is twofold: How much distance can they afford to put between themselves and Trump today, and what kind of party do they want to build for tomorrow?

The next generation of Republican politics is already taking shape.

Whether candidates recognize that — or are too busy figuring out how to survive the Trump era to think about what comes next — is another question entirely.

From The Editors’ Desk

EXCLUSIVE: Viral Meme Mocking MAGA Hardliners Was Made By America First Conservative — Jack McGeever, Daily Caller News Foundation

The man behind the viral “MAGAtard” meme mocking MAGA influencers who blindly defend everything Trump does is an America First conservative. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation, the creator of Forbidden HQ explained why he thinks the movement needs to be willing to criticize its own side, especially on issues like foreign wars, government surveillance and the Epstein files. The irony? Some of the very people he’s mocking have embraced the character as their mascot.

Beware the Modern Wimp-Man — Matt Taibbi, Racket News

Matt Taibbi takes aim at the rise of the modern “wimp-man,” a breed of men who trade dignity for public displays of victimhood. Using Hollywood’s John Leguizamo and the Cornell 7 case as examples, Taibbi argues that traditional masculine virtues have been systematically devalued, leaving the next generation of boys to navigate a culture that treats them like a liability.

Obama Foundation and Presidential Center workers to unionize: ‘We don’t even have a seat at the table’ — Ambar Colin, Chicago Sun-Times

Workers at former president Barack Obama’s presidential library are unionizing amid allegedly poor working conditions. Just four months after the center opened, employees say they’re facing rising healthcare costs, reduced paid time off, and heavy workloads. More than 250 employees could be recognized by the union, which quotes Obama’s own pro-union rhetoric back at him.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump DHS Redacts Deportation Data After Oversight Project Lawsuit — Ashley Brasfield, Daily Caller

The Trump administration is bragging about millions of illegal aliens leaving the country but they apparently don’t want to back up those claims with official data. Documents obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller show DHS completely blacked out deportation data requested by the conservative Oversight Project. The group’s president, Mike Howell, believes the real numbers are much lower than what the administration is claiming publicly.

Splitsville: Why London Is The Divorce Capital Of The World — Katie Glass, The Standard

London is the go-to destination for ultra-rich couples looking to get divorced, reports Katie Glass. English courts are particularly attractive to the financially weaker spouse, as judges often start from the presumption that marital assets should be split equally, regardless of whose name is on the bank account. One wealthy divorcee described running up the tab on luxury purchases amid the divorce to justify a higher settlement.

“I went and spent thousands on a bracelet that I hate just to show I could spend £7,000 a day,” she said.

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