The conservative editorial page of the Wall Street Journal thinks President Trump blundered when he went after GOP Sen. Thom Tillis. And it might very well doom his presidency in two years, warns the editorial. The background is that Tillis voted against advancing the "big beautiful bill" in the Senate, and an angry Trump then threatened to organize a primary challenge in North Carolina to oust him. Soon after, Tillis announced he wouldn't be running for re-election. The problem now for Trump is that this puts the seat in play for Democrats, and it's not a stretch to suggest they might win it. "When events are going in (Trump's) direction," the editorial reads, "he has an uncanny habit of handing his opponents a sword."
The GOP has a slim majority in the Senate, and a number of GOP senators—including Susan Collins in Maine and Joni Ernst in Iowa—are vulnerable. "The GOP pickup opportunities are few, so with Mr. Tillis's departure the Senate is in play for 2026," the editors write. On top of that, the party's hold on the House also is in question. "GOP legislative reforms will have no chance if Democrats take the House in 2026," the editorial concludes. "And if they also take the Senate, forget about confirming another Supreme Court nominee. The Trump Presidency will be dead in the water." (Read the full editorial.)