President Donald Trump’s second administration is radically different from his first. When he was in the White House before, Trump famously clashed with a long list of traditional conservatives he appointed — from then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to then-National Security Adviser John Bolton. But in his current administration, Trump is surrounded by MAGA loyalists who tell him what he wants to hear instead of challenging him.As a result, Trump’s second presidency is often described as a MAGA “bubble.” During a Monday, December 15 appearance on MS NOW, GOP strategist Brendan Buck — a former senior aide to ex-House Speakers Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and John Boehner (R-Ohio) — emphasized that by “living in a political bubble,” Trump is creating a massive “problem” for fellow Republicans.Buck told host Ana Cabrera and Democratic strategist Adam Jentleson (who served as chief of staff to Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania) that when Trump cuts himself off from constructive criticism, he is failing to address the GOP’s problems — including his weak approval ratings on the economy.”If you don’t actually deliver on people’s core livelihood issue,” Buck argued, “it’s going to catch up with you at some point. And this all comes back to — as it always does with politics and the economy — if you’re not making people feel more comfortable, more secure that you’re addressing their issues, they’re going to lose their enthusiasm. And enthusiasm is a big part of midterm elections. If Republicans are not excited come November, Democrats are going to have a very good night.”Cabrera noted in an NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll, 44 percent of respondents cited “inflation and rising cost of living” as their top concern. And Buck warned fellow conservatives that Republicans will lose the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026 if Trump doesn’t address voters’ economic worries.Buck told Cabrera and Jentleson, “I think this is the consequence of Donald Trump living in his own political bubble, to a certain degree. We know that he is presented lots of information that he likes, and he latches onto things that feel good. And so, maybe he’s just not getting the data that everybody else is seeing. He doesn’t live a normal life. But it is the job of people around him and congressional leaders to make sure he understands, ‘No, sir, this actually is a concern of the American people.'” Buck continued, “I know that Donald Trump doesn’t ever like to admit that there are problems when he is governing. But if you can’t admit you have a problem, I don’t know how you’re going to solve it.” President Donald Trump holds a Cabinet meeting, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in the Cabinet Room. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
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