Republicans’ big 2026 problem: An unhinged Trump who doesn’t seem to care about them | CNN Politics

One of President Donald Trump’s greatest political talents is bending the rest of his party to his will. After the 2024 election, he went into overdrive on that front, claiming his “landslide” victory gave him an “unprecedented and powerful mandate.” The results don’t indicate that, but the GOP swallowed it whole. Some lawmakers even argued they should relegate themselves to vassals for Trump’s agenda. (“Whatever that is, we need to embrace it,” Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas said. “All of it. Every single word.”) But that might not have been the wisest strategy for Republicans hoping to keep their seats in the 2026 midterm elections. Trump has used that wide latitude to say seemingly whatever he pleases and to pursue policies that the American people decidedly dislike, most recently with the Iran war. It’s almost as if he doesn’t care that what he’s doing could torpedo the GOP’s hopes in less than seven months — because Congress doesn’t matter much to his view of power. Republicans might want to proceed accordingly. Trump has always conducted business in his way — he once called it “modern-day presidential.” But as the New York Times’ Peter Bake