About this episode

Catherine Rampell and Joe Perticone discuss the implications of Trump's influence on the Republican Party as midterm elections approach, including the decline of MAGA merchandise and Kash Patel's controversial video.

Catherine Rampell and Joe Perticone discuss the growing signs that Republicans see Trump as a midterm liability, from candidates scrubbing his photos and endorsements from their websites to vulnerable members finding excuses to skip his big convention. They also look at the collapse of the MAGA merch business, Trump’s post about renaming New Mexico, and Kash Patel’s embarrassing AI-generated FBI propaganda. Joe Perticone, The Bulwark — “Sorry, Mr. President. I Have a Thing.” https://www.thebulwark.com/p/sorry-mr-president-i-have-a-thing-republican-midterm-convention-trumpapalooza-dallas-gop New York Times — "As Midterms Approach, Republicans Find There Is No Escape From Trump" https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/us/politics/trump-miderm-elections-republicans.html Axios — “‘We’re stuck’: GOP accepts Trump’s all-about-me midterms” https://www.axios.com/2026/09/05/republicans-stuck-trump-midterms The Wall Street Journal — “In Trump’s Second Term, the MAGA Merchandise Boom Is Going Bust” https://www.wsj.com/politics/in-trumps-second-term-the-maga-merchandise-boom-is-going-bust-725bc43a CBS News — “At the FBI, a history of hiring prostitutes or stealing from employer may no longer be a…

People in this episode

Host: Catherine Rampell

Guest: Joe Perticone

Topics covered

• Republican politics
• Trump's influence
• midterm elections
• MAGA merchandise
• FBI propaganda

Keywords

• Trump
• Republicans
• midterms
• Kash Patel
• FBI
• MAGA
• politics
• merchandise

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FBI, The Bulwark, New York Times, Axios, The Wall Street Journal, CBS News

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