Second Amendment becomes latest test for Trump coalition
What's the endgame here?
If Republicans want to have any hope in holding their House and Senate majorities this fall, they need President Donald Trump’s base to turn up.
So it seems an odd strategy that he and members of his administration keep saying things that are seemingly designed to keep that base away from the ballot box for this November’s midterm elections.
The latest example came this week after U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro appeared on Fox News and promised to arrest anyone stopped in Washington with a firearm but without the proper license. Her comments came after Trump himself rankled Second Amendment advocates when he repeatedly complained that Alex Pretti, the second anti-ICE protester shot dead in Minneapolis, was armed.
“Within the gun community, people are very upset about the way Trump has talked about guns,” Republican strategist Evan Siegfried told the Washington Examiner. “It was seen as almost a complete betrayal of the Second Amendment.”
Separately, other Trump supporters have expressed the same sense of “betrayal” regarding the administration’s lack of disclosure with the Jeffrey Epstein files, even after congressional Republicans succeeded in their endeavor to have former President Bill Clinton and one-time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testify before the House Oversight committee this month.
“If your representative, Democrat or Republican, is still silent about the Epstein files, or claiming it’s ‘much ado about nothing,’ it’s time to elect a new one,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) wrote on social media after last week’s Epstein files dump.
If your representative, Democrat or Republican, is still silent about the Epstein files, or claiming it’s “much ado about nothing,” it’s time to elect a new one. Check their public statements today.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 31, 2026
Similarly, Trump caused consternation with his comments about abortion and the requirement for Republicans to be “flexible” regarding the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal funding from being spent on terminating pregnancies, as his administration tries not to scare more centrist women after Democrats’ success in doing just that in 2022.
These three examples are on top of persistent complaints that Trump is prioritizing foreign policy while taking his eye off the ball on domestic issues, to the point that the White House has opened fewer of the president’s meetings with foreign leaders to the press than in the past.
“Congress just funded Israel …
What's the endgame here?
If Republicans want to have any hope in holding their House and Senate majorities this fall, they need President Donald Trump’s base to turn up.
So it seems an odd strategy that he and members of his administration keep saying things that are seemingly designed to keep that base away from the ballot box for this November’s midterm elections.
The latest example came this week after U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro appeared on Fox News and promised to arrest anyone stopped in Washington with a firearm but without the proper license. Her comments came after Trump himself rankled Second Amendment advocates when he repeatedly complained that Alex Pretti, the second anti-ICE protester shot dead in Minneapolis, was armed.
“Within the gun community, people are very upset about the way Trump has talked about guns,” Republican strategist Evan Siegfried told the Washington Examiner. “It was seen as almost a complete betrayal of the Second Amendment.”
Separately, other Trump supporters have expressed the same sense of “betrayal” regarding the administration’s lack of disclosure with the Jeffrey Epstein files, even after congressional Republicans succeeded in their endeavor to have former President Bill Clinton and one-time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testify before the House Oversight committee this month.
“If your representative, Democrat or Republican, is still silent about the Epstein files, or claiming it’s ‘much ado about nothing,’ it’s time to elect a new one,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) wrote on social media after last week’s Epstein files dump.
If your representative, Democrat or Republican, is still silent about the Epstein files, or claiming it’s “much ado about nothing,” it’s time to elect a new one. Check their public statements today.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 31, 2026
Similarly, Trump caused consternation with his comments about abortion and the requirement for Republicans to be “flexible” regarding the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal funding from being spent on terminating pregnancies, as his administration tries not to scare more centrist women after Democrats’ success in doing just that in 2022.
These three examples are on top of persistent complaints that Trump is prioritizing foreign policy while taking his eye off the ball on domestic issues, to the point that the White House has opened fewer of the president’s meetings with foreign leaders to the press than in the past.
“Congress just funded Israel …
Second Amendment becomes latest test for Trump coalition
What's the endgame here?
If Republicans want to have any hope in holding their House and Senate majorities this fall, they need President Donald Trump’s base to turn up.
So it seems an odd strategy that he and members of his administration keep saying things that are seemingly designed to keep that base away from the ballot box for this November’s midterm elections.
The latest example came this week after U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro appeared on Fox News and promised to arrest anyone stopped in Washington with a firearm but without the proper license. Her comments came after Trump himself rankled Second Amendment advocates when he repeatedly complained that Alex Pretti, the second anti-ICE protester shot dead in Minneapolis, was armed.
“Within the gun community, people are very upset about the way Trump has talked about guns,” Republican strategist Evan Siegfried told the Washington Examiner. “It was seen as almost a complete betrayal of the Second Amendment.”
Separately, other Trump supporters have expressed the same sense of “betrayal” regarding the administration’s lack of disclosure with the Jeffrey Epstein files, even after congressional Republicans succeeded in their endeavor to have former President Bill Clinton and one-time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testify before the House Oversight committee this month.
“If your representative, Democrat or Republican, is still silent about the Epstein files, or claiming it’s ‘much ado about nothing,’ it’s time to elect a new one,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) wrote on social media after last week’s Epstein files dump.
If your representative, Democrat or Republican, is still silent about the Epstein files, or claiming it’s “much ado about nothing,” it’s time to elect a new one. Check their public statements today.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 31, 2026
Similarly, Trump caused consternation with his comments about abortion and the requirement for Republicans to be “flexible” regarding the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal funding from being spent on terminating pregnancies, as his administration tries not to scare more centrist women after Democrats’ success in doing just that in 2022.
These three examples are on top of persistent complaints that Trump is prioritizing foreign policy while taking his eye off the ball on domestic issues, to the point that the White House has opened fewer of the president’s meetings with foreign leaders to the press than in the past.
“Congress just funded Israel …
