Reuters: Trump Faults Aides as Republican Midterm Prospects Dim, With Blair and Wiles at the Center
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is blaming senior aides and political operatives for a faltering midterm strategy, questioning campaign spending, faulting redistricting and second-guessing candidate choices as Republicans fight to retain control of Congress, Reuters reported on October 17, citing three people familiar with internal discussions. Trump is not on the November 3 ballot but repeatedly tells supporters to pretend that he is.
According to Reuters, much of the friction has centered on James Blair, the longtime aide who runs Trump's super PAC MAGA Inc., and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who until now had largely escaped criticism. Trump has faulted Blair's handling of campaign funds, while some White House officials and allies have questioned Wiles' oversight of the political operation. As Trump questions why campaign spending has failed to improve Republican polling numbers, his advisers are also blaming one another: Wiles has pointed to Blair, while Blair has faulted the White House legislative affairs team, one of the people said, describing the situation as a "circular firing squad."
Opinion polls suggest Democrats will win the House of Representatives, while the Senate remains too close to call, Reuters reported. Losing the House would hamper Trump's legislative agenda in the final two years of his term and give Democrats subpoena power to investigate his administration. MAGA Inc.'s campaign spending so far stands at about $200 million by public records, and it remains unclear whether Trump will approve more spending before the election, one of the sources said.
Trump defended Wiles on Friday, calling her "smart" and "tough" and saying she would remain in her job: "Susie is here, and she's going to be here for a long time," Reuters reported. White House spokesman Davis Ingle rejected the sources' characterization, saying they were "armchair experts peddling their baseless speculation." Wiles did not respond to a request for comment. 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."
Reuters reported that Trump's frustrations 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. Trump distanced himself from both men in an October 7 Truth Social post, describing them as "outside consultants" and warning that if he found a conflict of interest, he would "terminate them, immediately." Senior White House officials questioned why Blair was taking on lucrative work overseas when he was supposed to be overseeing the final stretch of the Republican campaign, and one person said Wiles approved the trip without informing Trump. Trump had said Blair was expected to return to the White House after the midterms, describing his departure as a "short leave of absence," but two sources told Reuters his return was now unlikely. Trump has also pressed aides to explain why the redistricting effort he personally pushed has failed to deliver more clear-cut Republican gains, with Texas a particular concern: the strategy relies in part on Hispanic voters turning out as they did in 2024, support that polls suggest may be difficult to replicate amid concerns about the cost of living and Trump's handling of the economy. (GSM, based on Reuters reporting)
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Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：特朗普在白宫椭圆形办公室（资料照片）。图片来源：白宫官方发布，公共领域。Photo: President Donald Trump in the Oval Office (file photo). Source: The White House, public domain.
