If Republicans hope to survive the 2028 election, they will need to abandon their blind loyalty to President Trump — immediately, publicly and aggressively. Otherwise, many more of them will join the large ranks of just-defeated Republicans who got the electoral boot precisely because most of them were Trump loyalists.
Abandoning their “blind loyalty” doesn’t mean opposing Trump on everything. It just means standing up to him when he’s wrong on economic and foreign policy, which most Republicans have failed to do for the last two years. Even now, there is jockeying to replace outgoing Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). Some of those seeking the job are asserting they will take on the Democrats. The Wall Street Journal quotes Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as claiming, “I am battle-tested on the oversight front, and I know the Democrats’ playbook.” But what about being “battle-tested” against Trump?
Very few Republicans have been willing to publicly criticize the president’s policies and harsh personal attacks. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) occasionally pushed back, claiming he didn’t have the votes when Trump demanded he end the Senate filibuster and pass the Save America Act. That got Thune a round of boos from the MAGA crowd at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas.
Trump won’t make the next two years easy for Republicans. When other presidents suffered a midterm rout — for example, President Bill Clinton in 1994 and President George W. Bush in 2006 — they often acknowledged the loss and made some course corrections. Not Trump. By replacing White House chief of staff Susie Wiles with hardliner Stephen Miller — you could call him “Trump’s id” — the president is telegraphing that he plans to double down on his worst instincts and policies. That’s going to create a real challenge for Republicans who know they need to separate themselves from the president and his policies but fear his and MAGA’s backlash.
Take tariffs, for example. The voters hate Trump’s arbitrary, cost-increasing tariffs, which is an important reason why they voted against Republicans. Democrats have pledged to introduce legislation to repeal or restrict Trump’s tariffs, perhaps starting with Canada. Democrats will claim the president has grossly abused his limited tariff authority, that repealing tariffs would be one of the fastest ways to lower prices and improve relations with our allies, and the Constitution vests the power to tax — and a tariff is a tax — in Congress. Correct on all points. Then Democrats will dare Republicans to vote against the legislation. Trump — the self-proclaimed “tariff man” — will almost surely oppose the effort and demand Republicans vote no, forcing Republicans in Congress to choose. Of course, Trump would likely veto any anti-tariff legislation. Would Republicans join Democrats in overriding that veto?
Or take the war with Iran. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) says Democrats will vote to defund the war with Iran, though not general defense spending. They will claim that ending the war will help bring gas prices down, that the war has become a quagmire, and that Trump should have sought input from our allies, the public and especially Congress, since the Constitution vests Congress with the power to declare and fund a war. Again, all true. Democrats will dare Republicans to vote against their effort, even though Trump will oppose it. In addition, Democrats may try to move legislation that restricts Trump’s personal vanity projects, like his proposed Trump arch and renaming the Kennedy Center after himself — distractions that have greatly irritated voters. Will Republicans join Democrats to stop the president?
Finally, voters said corruption was one of their top issues. Democrats will open investigations into several areas of the Trump family businesses, especially his sons. Republicans were very eager to pursue Hunter Biden’s shady financial dealings and efforts to profit off his father’s position. Will Republicans be at least open to investigating the president’s sons and take appropriate steps if they discover corruption?
When the whole world could see that President Joe Biden’s mental and physical capacities were declining, Democrats denied it and publicly and aggressively defended the president. That cost them dearly in the 2024 election. Could something similar happen to Republicans in 2028 if they refuse to take on Trump?
The irony is that in rejecting some of Trump’s priorities, Republicans could reaffirm their long-held principles that made them the conservative party: free trade, fiscal responsibility, free markets, limited government, and, perhaps most importantly, the constitutional separation of powers. The 2028 presidential campaign is underway, and Democratic presidential candidates would love to spend the next two years reminding voters they can’t lower prices and root out corruption because Republicans would rather side with Trump. Ronald Reagan’s most famous speech, in 1964, was “A Time for Choosing.” It’s time for Republicans to choose.
Merrill Matthews is the Texas state chair of Our Republican Legacy.
