Republican insiders have finally named ‘the real problem’ crippling the party… as an ‘every man for himself’ blame game splinters the GOP and two Trump allies are accused of betrayal: MARK HALPERIN

Published: 15:08 EDT, 8 October 2026 | Updated: 15:19 EDT, 8 October 2026

Early midterm voting is underway in earnest and Republicans are warming up for a cherished campaign tradition: explaining whose fault it will be, if they lose.

The party mood has moved from ‘all for one and one for all’ to ‘every man and woman for themselves.’

Team Trump, for its part, is trying to keep the band together, even though several members of the crew appear to be auditioning for solo careers or, perhaps, a duet.

One top Republican strategist offered this assessment, which will probably not appear on a campaign tote bag:

‘It is rough sledding out there. We don’t have anything to sell to the voters, gas is sky high, groceries, healthcare premiums, insurance and the list goes on. The real problem is we are the reason for all these things, our policies that most didn’t believe in in the first place. No one believes this is Joe Biden’s fault and we have been in lock step with a White House who doesn’t seem to have the best interests of Republicans running for office in mind.’

Dread, resignation, frustration and disgust. That is the unholy quaternity in both politics and life.

Against that backdrop, two men entrusted with helping Republicans survive November found time for some remunerative Balkan extracurriculars.

Chris LaCivita, who helped lead Trump’s 2024 campaign, and James Blair, his former deputy White House chief of staff and top political consigliere, reportedly traveled over the weekend to Republika Srpska, an autonomous territory within Bosnia and Herzegovina. The New York Times detonated a political explosion on Tuesday when it reported that the foreign government paid each man hundreds of thousands of dollars, through a Washington law firm, for advice on voting issues.

Chris LaCivita (above), who helped lead Trump’s 2024 campaign, and James Blair, his former deputy White House chief of staff and top political consigliere, reportedly traveled over the weekend to Republika Srpska

The New York Times reported that the foreign government paid each man hundreds of thousands of dollars, through a Washington law firm, for advice on voting issues. (Pictured: James Blair, chief of MAGA Inc, currently on leave as White House deputy chief of staff)

Republicans struggling to save their own jobs or their clients might reasonably have preferred a little advice on their own voting issues back here at home.

Several news organizations reported that Trump was surprised and angered by the trip. On Wednesday, on both Truth Social and in an Oval Office photo op, he described the men as outside consultants, professed ignorance of their other clients and threatened immediate termination if there was a conflict. Later, however, perhaps to lower the public temperature on the fracas, he said there wasn’t in fact a conflict. Maybe, just this once, Trump sees the wisdom of keeping any tensions quiet, so as to not further fuel the ‘Republicans in disarray’ meme.

If past is prologue, Trump is likely already contemplating whom to blame for a big party loss in November. If the president is searching for a scapegoat (or two), his ire could be fueled by an instance of the practice that offends him more than just about anything else, when people he has elevated cash in on his name and connections without his knowledge. There is making money, which he admires, and making money behind Daddy’s back, which requires a discussion and some permission.

Nobody familiar with Trump would confuse Wednesday’s apparent reprieve with a lifetime employment guarantee.

What is putting Republicans in a foul mood is the widespread belief that the overall political environment created by Donald Trump’s war, Donald Trump’s tariffs and Donald Trump’s focus on stuff like ballrooms has doomed the party to minority status in Congress and a bloodbath in the down ballot races.

However, in my investigations this week, I have found some Republican strategists who believe the House is lost, but perhaps not too badly, and that the Senate majority can in fact be saved. Under this view, a poisonous national environment can coexist with a forgiving electoral map.

Redistricting and entrenched partisan geography make comparisons with the waves of 1994, 2006, 2010 and 2018 imperfect; a big Democratic surge could in fact yield a modest majority. In the Senate, some combination of wins in Ohio (Red is as Red does), Texas (Governor Abbott and $200 million pull Ken Paxton over the finish line), Minnesota (candidate quality), and Michigan (Abdul El-Sayed just can’t close the sale with enough black voters) allow the Republicans to hold their majority by literally the narrowest of margins.

If the president is searching for a scapegoat (or two), his ire could be fueled by an instance of the practice that offends him more than just about anything else

Mark Halperin is the editor-in-chief and host of the interactive live video platform 2WAY and the host of the video podcast ‘Next Up’ on the Megyn Kelly Network

Notice how none of that optimism depends on voters falling back in love with the White House.

It depends on maps, candidates, turnout and Democrats failing to finish the job.

For Republicans looking beyond the current unpleasantness, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Wednesday speech in Greece offered a tempting diversion. With the Acropolis as his backdrop, the secretary of state delivered a sweeping defense of Western civilization, national strength and alliances.

There, some Republicans see a possible savior: articulate, serious and capable of completing a speech without distraction or destruction.

Unfortunately, the State Department job constrains Rubio’s ability to become the Republican Party’s midterm cavalry. Nor is Rubio ’28 anything like a sure thing.

So attention returns, as it always does, to Trump.

He has asked voters to pretend he is on the ballot. Democratic campaigns are delighted to oblige.