Washington Secrets: Trump team urged to get out of its right-wing media echo chamber to reach 2026 voters

ADVERTISEMENT Subscribe to the Magazine View this as website Forward this email          BY ROB CRILLY Welcome to Thursday's edition of Washington Secrets. Today, we have the polling numbers that show where Republicans will be fighting the midterm elections, we reveal where Marjorie Taylor Greene will be when Donald Trump arrives in her hometown, how the BBC is turning the page on the president, and what Laura Branigan's "Gloria" says about peace in the Middle East (or something)… Republicans have to get out of their right-wing media comfort zone if they are to put up a decent showing in midterm elections this year, according to a top ally of President Donald Trump. The message has been delivered at a string of Republican retreats over the past two weeks, when White House officials have urged campaign strategists to look beyond regular media outlets and use podcasts and streaming shows to get the word out. And John McLaughlin, a pollster who has advised Trump since 2011, told Secrets that the idea is based on surveys that show the elections will be won and lost among voters who do not watch cable news.  "They'll decide the election," he said. "You have to get out from our comfort zones and our echo chambers." Members of Trump's Cabinet and senior White House officials, led by chief of staff Susie Wiles, gathered at the Capitol Hill Club on Tuesday evening. Over a chicken-and-steak buffet, they discussed how to sell the President's agenda and bolster Republican midterm campaigns. It echoed a retreat for senators in Palm Beach, Florida, last week and a recent meeting for House Republicans as the White House turns its attention to November's elections. HERE ARE THE DATES TO KNOW FOR THE 2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS McLaughlin was not present on Tuesday, but Secrets's sources said some of his recent polling fed into data presentations and recommendations that candidates and surrogates prioritize appearances on podcasts and streaming shows. He shared data from a poll of 1,000 general election voters from the end of January. It gave Democrats a two-point lead over Republicans (46% to 44%) as they weigh their party preference. Not surprisingly, 75% of right-wing cable viewers, who watch Fox News and Newsmax, preferred the GOP, while 71% of left-wing cable viewers preferred the Democrats. But almost a third of respondents said they did not watch cable news at all. They tended to break 33% Republican and 51% Democratic. McLaughlin said that was where the battle would be fought, among the big chunk of undecideds. The 2024 Trump campaign should be the model for the midterm elections. "We went through non-traditional channels to get podcasts," he said. "He did, you know, he did events. He would do the rallies, which would then be amplified all across social media." Instead of doing 60 Minutes on CBS News, for example, Trump appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience or alongside influencers such as Adin Ross, on Six Feet Under with Mark Calaway, and This Past Weekend with Theo Von, among others. Many others. McLaughlin also claimed his data showed the public was persuadable on the economy, which his polls showed to be the No. 1 issue for voters. At first, 54% of respondents said the economy was getting worse, while 39% said it was getting better. But if they were then read a series of statements saying that inflation was down, employment was buoyant, and wages were rising faster than inflation, then the numbers switched. Almost two-thirds said the economy was getting better.  "Trump is doing things that are making it better, but you got to do a lot more to let people know," he said. The danger is that his conclusion is much the same as the one reached by President Joe Biden's White House as the election defeat loomed. His officials became endlessly frustrated by voters' refusal to focus on the pain in their pocketbooks rather than on complex economic data that showed price rises slowing. If only they could get their message across better, ran the lament. "Biden had a different problem," answered McLaughlin. "His problem was reality." Marjorie Taylor Greene leaves town as Trump arrives The president flies to Rome, Georgia, today as he tries to reset the debate on the economy and sell his tax cuts to a skeptical public. (McLaughlin will be pleased.) Rome is, of course, home to Marjorie Taylor Greene, one-time ally now a foe. Trump loyalists are looking forward to sparks flying. Laura Loomer, the online influencer and Trump whisperer, who has revived her feud with Greene, is particularly excited.  "I can't wait to watch President Trump obliterate you in your home town of Rome, Georgia tomorrow during his event," Loomer posted on Wednesday. But Secrets understands that Greene is getting out of dodge. A Secrets source said she was leaving on Wednesday morning on a long-planned family trip. Which means Brian Glenn, her beau and White House correspondent for Real America's Voice, will also not be around to cover the visit, depriving the viewing public of what might well have been a very awkward Q&A session with the president. You are reading Washington Secrets, a guide to power and politics in D.C. and beyond. It is written by Rob Crilly, whom you can reach at secrets@washingtonexaminer DOT COM with your comments, story tips, and suggestions. If a friend sent you this and you'd like to sign up, click here. BBC turns the page with its defense against Trump The BBC has set out how it plans to defend itself against the president's $10 billion defamation case, brought for the way a documentary spliced together his Jan. 6, 2021, speech. But the broadcaster ran into a problem. "Defendants respectfully request that the Court permit them to exceed the 20-page limit for their Memorandum of Law by 5 pages, for a total of 25 pages," its lawyers wrote in a motion asking for more space to describe the defense. They must be feeling confident of their argument that the president has not shown that his reputation suffered from the editing, and that the Florida court lacks jurisdiction to hear his case. 'I think you're headed for a breakdown' Trump held his Board of Peace meeting on Thursday morning. And it seems there is no event that cannot be turned into a rally-style event. World leaders who have joined the board had to wait awkwardly as the president's playlist boomed around the hall at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Not least when Laura Branigan's "Gloria" came on. Sample lyric: "I think you're headed for a breakdown, so be careful not to show it." What does it all mean for Gaza? WASHINGTON SECRETS — GOLF DIPLOMACY: LINDSEY GRAHAM TELLS TRUMP HE HAS 'GENERATIONAL OPPORTUNITY' TO TAKE ON IRAN Lunchtime Reading How an Afghan Commando Brought America's Shadow War to Washington: What drove Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan who had once served alongside U.S. Special Forces, to shoot dead a National Guard member outside a Washington Metro station and critically wound a second? This piece doesn't answer the question, but it offers an insight into the anger and frustration in Afghanistan. Billy Bob's boomtown: Taylor Sheridan's 'Landman' and the triumph of traditional values: "At its core, Landman is a celebration of a kind of masculinity that's as tough as a drill bit. Thornton's Tommy embodies the archetype of the battle-scarred oilman who's as quick with a fist or a quip and who's even more fiercely protective of his kin." ADVERTISEMENT