‘Not helpful’: Trump’s thoughts on AI, Flock cameras, Ireland distract from post-convention message
Por Alex Gangitano and Myah Ward — POLITICO – TOP Stories
One week ago, President Donald Trump kicked off a historic convention that was supposed to set the message for Republicans to carry through the midterms.
Since then, he lashed out against calls to regulate artificial intelligence and came out in favor of Flock cameras, two positions that put him increasingly at odds with voters and many members of his own party.
He denounced the Supreme Court, including the three justices he appointed, after it rejected his attempt to enforce rules around mail-in ballot delivery. He declared that he’d like to see a united Ireland, drawing rebukes abroad, and Democrats demanded answers about a Russian oligarch reportedly bankrolling part of Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding celebrations.
On the biggest hurdle facing the GOP — concerns over the cost-of-living — Trump’s promise of $5,000 dividends if the GOP holds its majorities was shrugged off by Republicans in Congress. Meanwhile, diesel prices hit record highs, gas prices continue to increase and the Federal Reserve is expected Wednesday to raise interest rates for the first time in three years — the exact opposite of what Trump has long said is needed.
The president has been criticized for his lack of message discipline, often pivoting to topics like the White House ballroom construction or the Kennedy Center takeover, but the point of this convention was to set a unifying message for the GOP that could focus voters attention, especially those Trump supporters who typically stay home in a midterm year.
“It’s incumbent on the White House and others to drive the message from the top down — but we’ve demonstrated, for a while, that that’s not a strong suit,” said a GOP strategist working on multiple battleground races and granted anonymity to speak candidly. “We come out of the convention, and this week we’re talking about anything but what we said we’d talk about last week.”
Instead, Republicans are answering whether they agree with the president that AI concerns are a “hoax” and sparring with the administration over the utility of Flock cameras, which are stirring broad anxiety over the possibility of mass unchecked surveillance on everyday citizens in neighborhoods around the country.
“A lot of the headlines being generated by the president— whether it’s on Flock cameras or AI or cost of living— are not helpful,” said a former Trump campaign official, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “It’s important for candidates to not be afraid to take a different approach in their own campaigns… if you have a different opinion, then don’t be afraid to say it.”
The White House pushed back on the notion that this week has been a drag on the post convention messaging goals, pointing to the EPA’s roll back of power plan regulations, which the White House estimates will save Americans $300 billion. Spokesperson Kush Desai also pointed to the Census Bureau report finding poverty hit a record low and real income a record high in 2025, as well as the Memphis Task Force’s 12,000 arrests of criminals and sex offenders over the last year.
“While the Fake News obsess over popcorn headlines, President Trump and his administration remain laser-focused on delivering real results for the American people,” Desai said.
Still, Kevin Madden, a veteran GOP communications strategist who worked on Mitt Romney’s and George W. Bush’s presidential campaigns, said a midterm convention, ideally, sets up a sharp contrast with Democrats. But the smorgasbord of storylines over the last week make it likely that many people will forget a convention ever took place.
“That is both a product of the always Trump news cycle,” he said, “and also just the fact that right now, there are challenges to a nationalized election environment and the need for some of these candidates to really run like hyper localized, hyper personalized contests back in swing districts and swing states and battleground states.”
While the battle over what to do on AI policy is dominating Trump’s Truth Social account and headlines in Washington, Republicans working to hold control of Congress argue that gas prices pose a greater threat to the GOP majorities.
“The issue hurting the GOP is the price of gas and, lesser extent, [the price of] food. None of the other stuff, including AI, matters,” a GOP fundraiser said, granted anonymity to talk about party dynamics.
The average price of a gallon of gas increased to $4.33, up 26 cents in a month, according to AAA.
The person predicted Trump can help the Senate stay in Republican hands with his campaign push, and argued while the House is more of a challenge, Democrats haven’t provided alternatives to high gas prices.
“Still might be enough for Dems to take House but contrast ads are coming and we have 45 days,” the person said.
The convention kicked off regular travel for embattled candidates this week—he heads to North Carolina on Wednesday— and spent part of his MAGA Inc., war chest in Texas.
He is likely to bring the same message to the trail that he did at the convention, which was to pretend he is on the ballot in November. That message still works for low propensity voters, despite that latest out of Washington, said Wisconsin-based GOP strategist Mark Graul.
“From a Republican perspective, hopefully the convention helped get some of those folks who haven’t turned out for the last two midterms to get them to turn out this time,” Graul said. “They’ve shown that they don’t care about the other stuff, right? These are folks who are incredibly loyal to Donald Trump, and they’ve been loyal to him for three straight presidential elections.”
Graul added that the “bigger picture is still tough” for Republicans ahead of November.
“We are still in a tricky political climate for Republicans. It’s always going to be a tricky climate for the party that is in power and the presidency in these midterm elections,” he said. “So nothing about that has changed.”
Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories
