"Republicans put rhetorical distance between themselves and Trump"

Angelo Carusone (0:04)

President Trump this week said that he might actually visit Maine. Will you stand with him if he does?

Susan Collins (0:08)

I've heard nothing from his office, and I'm not exactly his favorite senator. So yes or no? Do you have a yes or no to that? I would say that he is not coming to Maine. Okay.

Angelo Carusone (0:21)

I've stood up to the president many times.

SPEAKER_4 (0:22)

I've said that I can grew with the president without worshiping him.

Angelo Carusone (0:24)

I can disagree without attacking him.

SPEAKER_5 (0:26)

I don't know anybody, anything.

Nobody's ever told me what to do. My number one priority is Georgians, it's you, and I will stand up to anybody.

Nicolle Wallace (0:39)

Hi again, everybody. It's happening. It's 5 o'clock in New York. It was quite a show by Republican Senate and gubernatorial candidates last night, putting as much rhetorical distance between themselves and the leader of their party, Donald Trump. Trump's approval ratings have hit record lows as of late. His policies continue to cause crises and price increases. He repeatedly shows his indifference to the suffering of the American people, including his own voters, and doesn't seem at all interested in understanding what people are so upset about. Yet he still believes that he's the key, that he's the answer to helping the Republican Party win the midterms. Case in point, he is right now en route to Texas. It is his third visit to Texas in less than a month.

He's going back to campaign for the Republican candidate for Senate, Ken Paxton. Paxton is currently trailing the Democrat in that race, James Talarico. Trump's appearance today may be a little awkward, as there is now a third leaked audio tape, that makes three in about eight days, of Ken Paxton bashing Trump's campaign choices and policy decisions. Axios reports that at a closed-door fundraiser in Washington, DC last month, Paxton was asked what headwinds his campaign is facing. Listen to what he said.

Ken Paxton (1:55)

The war is the gas prices, it's diesel. Over $6 a gallon, it's a lot of money. But they have a lot of trucks with diesel on them.

So I'd say that's probably the biggest button that pushed out the prices and everything else. So many of the factors in this federal race are uncontrolled. I don't make the decisions. Well, I don't know what's behind some of the decisions.

Nicolle Wallace (2:28)

So, keep in mind, this is the guy that Trump keeps calling ugly and badly dressed. The fact that Trump is making his third visit to a traditionally red state tells us a lot about the state of the race there. Meanwhile, more Senate races seem to be bending toward the Democrats' favor. Cook Political Report has shifted its ratings for three states further to the left, New Hampshire, North Carolina and even Kansas. We are talking about Kansas. Kansas is now rated as a toss-up. It has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, almost 100 years ago. Other ratings outlets, including MS Now, continue to see Republicans with an advantage there. Cook Political Report's headline, announcing these shifts, reads, A Senate majority is squarely in Democrats' sight.

Republicans losing momentum, Donald Trump's support dropping. And yet, where are two of his most closely known political advisors today? Well, New York Times finds that last week at least, they were, quote, in the Balkans, helping a pro-Russian government looking to tighten its grip on power. James Blair and Chris LaSavita, who are leading a big money midterm advertising campaign for the Trump political operation, spent the last few days in a small self-governing territory in Bosnia called Republika Srpsa, head of elections there Sunday, according to four people familiar with it. That reporting seemed to have hit a nerve as Donald Trump posted about it this afternoon, that those two were outside consultants and he will, quote, terminate them if there are any conflicts.

We will believe that when we see it. The politically toxic Donald Trump with his aides out helping Russian aligned people. But of course, is where we begin the hour with some of our favorite reporters and friends. I want to bring in New York Times reporter Ken Vogel, who's byline on the reporting we read from. Also joining us, Media Matters for America president Angelo Carasone. Joining me at the table for the hour, Puck News Senior Political columnist, National Affairs Analyst John Heilman is back. Ken Vogel, first for people who don't know, Chris LaSavita is a fast zebra. He's one of the political people who survived and thrived in this, let Trump be Trump political era we're living in.

But he's making a lot of money and he's helping people aligned with Putin explain.