Donald Trump’s former chief of staff has warned that a deeply offensive video shared by the president may have seriously damaged the Republican Party’s already fragile chances in the upcoming midterm elections.
At the same time, Donald Trump appears to be trying to shift public attention away from his controversial behavior online and back toward policy decisions he believes could win over voters. On Friday evening, the 79-year-old president posted on his Truth Social account boasting about rolling
back Obama-era restrictions on commercial fishing off the coast of New England. The message came just one day after he faced intense backlash for sharing an AI-generated video that depicted Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes, a post that many people described as openly racist.
In his post, Trump celebrated signing a new presidential proclamation that he claimed would “unleash” commercial fishing in the Atlantic Ocean. He framed the move as a gift to fishermen and coastal communities and urged voters to remember it when they head to the polls in November. He explicitly asked people to vote Republican in the midterms, saying he had acted “against strong Democrat opposition” to help them.
The proclamation restores commercial fishing access to roughly 4,913 square miles of ocean within the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, an area off the coast of New England. The marine preserve was originally established by President Obama in 2016 to protect fragile deep-sea coral ecosystems. Trump rolled back those protections during his first term, and President Joe Biden later reinstated them.
Trump has repeatedly portrayed this latest decision as a favor to New England, despite the region consistently voting Democratic in every presidential election in which he has appeared on the ballot. In his social media posts, he scolded voters there for supporting Democrats, arguing that they had harmed their own economic interests. He urged them to abandon Democrats and back him and the Republican Party going forward.
This appeal for midterm support comes at a moment when Republicans are facing grim political forecasts. Polling suggests Democrats have a strong chance of retaking control of both chambers of Congress. Compounding the problem, Trump’s approval ratings on the economy and immigration once considered his strongest issues during the 2024 election have dropped sharply, creating serious challenges for vulnerable Republican incumbents.
Now, those same GOP candidates must also contend with the fallout from Trump’s late-night social media activity. The video showing the Obamas with their faces superimposed onto apes sparked widespread outrage. Critics across the political spectrum called it racist and demeaning.
The White House attempted to downplay the controversy, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claiming it was simply a Lion King meme, even though the film does not feature apes. Trump himself said he did not notice the offensive imagery, arguing that it appeared only at the end of the clip.
Behind the scenes, however, Republicans are reportedly alarmed. Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s former chief of staff, told NewsNation that the video may have effectively destroyed the GOP’s already slim hopes in the midterms. According to Mulvaney, several House members are panicking and unsure how to address the issue while campaigning, especially when voters raise it directly.
Some Republicans have publicly distanced themselves from the president over the post. Pete Ricketts, a Nebraska senator facing reelection in 2026, openly condemned the video. He said that even if the clip was meant as a meme, any reasonable person could clearly see the racist context. Ricketts argued that the White House should do what anyone does after making a serious mistake: remove the post and issue an apology.
Altogether, the episode has underscored the growing tension within the Republican Party, as candidates struggle to defend their seats while their party leader continues to ignite controversy that threatens to overshadow any policy message he hopes voters will remember.
