{"id":290,"date":"2026-05-23T04:09:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T04:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=290"},"modified":"2026-05-23T04:09:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T04:09:08","slug":"gop-strategist-says-trump-has-hit-the-dreaded-velcro-phase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=290","title":{"rendered":"GOP strategist says Trump has hit the dreaded ‘Velcro’ phase"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s committed bloc of grievance voters has largely made him immune to his stumbles, snafus, overt displays of hate and his seemingly bottomless racism. But there is a limit to what even the most cultlike public is willing to tolerate, and Trump has staggered past it.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018That\u2019s our money\u2019: Fuming MAGA voter tears apart Trump\u2019s latest scheme<\/a><\/p>\n

Mike Murphy has served as a political strategist for the likes of John McCain, Mitt Romney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jeb Bush \u2014 so he knows when a politician has hit a certain point where everything sticks, and Trump is in it neck deep.<\/p>\n

There’s kind of a Velcro effect when you start getting down to the 40 percent \u2014 let alone 30s\u2014in approval,\u201d said Murphy. \u201cThen everything’s your fault because people are already sold on the belief that you’re just a screw up.\u201d<\/p>\n

“[When] two thirds of the country thinks you’re not good at your job. Then, hey, you know, we had five days of thunderstorms \u2014 that damn Trump. You know, it just becomes easier for all the bad s\u2014\u2014 to stick to you,\u201d Murphy told Bulwark podcaster Tim Miller. \u201cAnd that’s where [Trump] is now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s polling is at historic lows, blowing beneath floors once smashed by unpopular presidents like former president Jimmy Carter, surpassing even presidents who served at the onset of the Great Depression.<\/p>\n

Read more Defiant former Republican says losing \u2018still feels better\u2019 than serving Trump<\/a><\/p>\n

When you\u2019ve got numbers like this, Murphy said even cult voters take inventory of their gas and grocery prices. And suddenly irritating issues like unpopular ballrooms and deeply reviled Iran wars become infuriating \u2014 and they stay that way. Additionally, other certain overlooked flaws, like Trump\u2019s age, suddenly become more of a factor.<\/p>\n

\u201c[There\u2019s] all this talk about Trump’s birthday. You know he’s gonna turn 80. But he’s already 80,\u201d said Murphy. \u201cThe birthday is the last day of that year, like you’re a one-year-old means you’ve been one for a year, so he’s been 80 for a year and we’re going into 81 now. And the crazy old man stuff is really out there and becoming a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that Teflon Trump has edged into \u201cVelcro\u201d Trump, Murphy said Democrats will have a much easier time blasting him with messages that stick just as easily. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey can do stuff like that and it is gonna resonate as long as they keep some kind of offensive message,\u201d Murphy told Miller. <\/p>\n

Read more Republicans spend big to bury Trump\u2019s specter in this red state<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump\u2019s committed bloc of grievance voters has largely made him immune to his stumbles, snafus, overt displays of hate and his seemingly bottomless racism. But there is a limit to what even the most cultlike public is willing to tolerate, and Trump has staggered past it.Mike Murphy …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nGOP strategist says Trump has hit the dreaded 'Velcro' phase - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=290\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GOP strategist says Trump has hit the dreaded 'Velcro' phase - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President Donald Trump\u2019s committed bloc of grievance voters has largely made him immune to his stumbles, snafus, overt displays of hate and his seemingly bottomless racism. 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