As Republicans break with Trump, one gets a brushback: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, senior national political reporter Sahil Kapur looks at how Trump is reacting to Republicans putting some distance between themselves and the White House before the midterms. Plus, senior reporter Alexander Smith digs into a big issue in European politics with some echoes in recent U.S. politics — links between domestic right-wing parties and Russia.

— Scott Bland

As Republicans break with Trump, one gets a brushback

Analysis by Sahil Kapur

With President Donald Trump‘s approval rating dipping and voters turning toward Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, numerous Republican candidates have sought to distance themselves from him — scrubbing him from their websites, using their voices or votes to disapprove of the Iran war, and more.

For the most part, Trump has let it slide, in some cases downplaying the political signaling by wary allies to his skeptics in the electorate.

But not in the case of Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, the three-term Florida Republican who represents a Miami-area district. Last week, she ran a straight-to-camera ad, filmed outside the White House, condemning Trump’s immigration agenda.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far,” she says in the ad, pointing at the camera and adding that “the same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

Salazar has reason to be worried, even though she won her last two elections by double digits and Trump handily carried her district in 2024. The district is 74% Hispanic.

Between 2020 and 2024, Trump made double-digit gains with Hispanic voters nationwide, according to exit polls. But his ratings have fallen precipitously since then. In the latest NBC News poll, Latino voters disapproved of Trump by a 2 to 1 margin.

Other Republicans have cause for concern, too.Trump’s national approval rating is 39% in the NBC News polling average (or about 20 points under water), falling from 50% (or about 5 points above water) when his second term began. Against that backdrop, Republican candidates have sought some distance on Iran, gas prices and other issues in recent weeks.

But it was Salazar who faced the brunt of Trump’s ire.

Over the weekend, the president went on Truth Social to repost more than a dozen social media posts slamming Salazar. “She’s openly pro-amnesty,” said one commenter reposted by Trump. “She tried a stunt and it backfired!” wrote another. “She is nothing but a back stabber,” wrote yet another. “Trump must remove his endorsement from her,” said a fourth. A fifth commenter boosted by Trump called for replacing her with a “new” Republican.

It serves as a warning shot to other Republicans not to cross the line or he’ll put them on blast with his base of supporters, whom the GOP needs to turn out to vote in November.

Less clear is where the line is. Salazar’s direct and public confrontation on TV — which has long been Trump’s preferred media — ran afoul of it.

But Florida governor candidate Byron Donalds, who has removed mentions of Trump from his website, did not violate his red line; Trump downplayed his distancing on social media.

Neither did Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, who voted two weeks ago for a Democratic-led resolution to end the Iran war, or Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, who last week said the war should end.

On Monday, Trump hosted Iowa lawmakers, including Miller-Meeks and Hinson, in the Oval Office to announce a new steel plant in Iowa.“We’re going to do a great rally. We’ll all be there together. We have to get you all elected,” Trump said.“We’ll save you a good Iowa pork chop, sir,” Hinson chimed in.

Does Europe’s far right have a Kremlin problem?

By Alexander Smith

Europe’s far-right parties are on the rise, seemingly well positioned to ride a groundswell of anti-establishment sentiment into power in several countries in the next few years.

But as anxiety mounts over threats of sabotage and cyberattacks from Russia, the resurgent right is facing scrutiny over past ties to the Kremlin — and questions about how it might approach Moscow in the future.

A striking pivot came this month from French far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen, the front-runner in next year’s presidential election.

In a joint statement with Jordan Bardella, another key figure within her National Rally party, Le Pen said she would “never tolerate” Russia using “intimidation, threats, destabilization or psychological pressure” to influence French policy.

They also condemned Moscow’s seizure of French and other European companies’ assets as “a hostile act against the interests of France and the nations of Europe” that “must be firmly condemned.”

It’s a notable rhetorical evolution from Le Pen, who only a few years ago was declaring her admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, playing down threats from Moscow and facing intense scrutiny over a 9.4 million euro ($10.7 million) loan to her party from a Russian bank.

📺 And now, your tax dollars: The Trump administration put out a new ad this weekend as part of its “PSA” campaign, which at the end says it was “Paid for by the U.S. government” but is nearly identical to an ad put out by Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. The administration has spent at least $1.7 million and counting on its PSA ads featuring Trump, according to AdImpact. Read more →
⚙️ Steel yourself: President Donald Trump on Monday announced plans for a $15 billion steel mill in Iowa. Read more →
📈 Five weeks out from the midterms: Stocks fell Monday alongside jumps in both bond yields and the price of oil as geopolitical upheaval remained front and center for traders. Read more →
⚖️ Sitting one out: Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito will no longer participate in a major climate case after facing calls that he recuse because of his stock holdings in oil companies. Read more →
🤖 Not the A-team for AI: Amid warnings that artificial intelligence could soon wipe out humanity, some lawmakers are not confident that Congress has the expertise or ability to regulate AI. Read more →
💲 Branch battle: The White House said Friday that it planned to cut $810 million in bipartisan, congressionally approved funding, spurring criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Read more →