Weighty leaders of the Republican Party, such as Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Maine Senator Susan Collins, have begun to publicly distance themselves from the President of the United States, Donald Trump, as they retreat in the polls ahead of the legislative elections in November, the so-called 'midterms', which take place at the midpoint of the presidential term.
Trump is scheduled to travel to Texas on Thursday, the next stop on the rally tour he has launched under the premise that the only way to avoid a possible Republican debacle at the polls is to transform those elections into a referendum on his own figure. The occupant of the White House has opted for this tactic understanding that no Republican candidate has enough pull on their own to prevail in their respective contests.
With this scenario, several party officials who observe how their expectations of victory are deteriorating have chosen to protect themselves politically. Abbott, who according to a poll published this weekend by the "New York Times" is now three points behind his Democratic opponent, Gina Hinojosa, has decided not to attend the rally on Thursday in San Antonio, citing "schedule problems," according to his office.
The governor has downplayed his absence. "Every time Trump appears in public, the base gets energized. He does a good job of organizing them and encouraging voter participation," he stated to the "Houston Chronicle".
Collins' situation is even more striking, given the distant relationship she maintains with the president. "I am not his favorite senator," she stated this week during a debate with her Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson, with whom she is practically tied, according to a poll released on Tuesday by YouGov.
During that confrontation, the senator defended that the state had made progress thanks to the implementation of measures away from Trump's political agenda.
Trump, for his part, has not publicly reacted to these distancing gestures and has focused on his own strategy, which he has been shaping to his convenience in light of the urgency of the moment. Evidence of this is his call from last weekend for mail-in voting, a participation system that Trump, traditionally, had presented as a mechanism specifically designed for fraud.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party is clearly on the defensive in five states that Trump won by margins of between 11 and 16 points in the 2024 presidential election. Among them is now Kansas, the most recent addition, a territory that Trump claimed by 16 points two years ago and that has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.