As election enters its final stretch, some Republicans are distancing from Trump

Seen on a screen below an exit sign, President Trump speaks on the first day of the 2026 Republican convention on Sept. 9 in Dallas. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

There's a rare thing happening inside President Trump's Republican Party: dissent.

The president has long insisted on loyalty, but in recent weeks, a growing number of Republican candidates and elected officials have distanced themselves from core pieces of his agenda: from calling for an end to the U.S. war with Iran and relief from high prices, to criticizing his handling of key agenda issues like immigration.

It comes at a critical moment for the GOP. With less than 40 days until voting ends, the party is scrambling to hold onto a slim majority in Congress, where control of both the Senate and House of Representatives could come down to just a handful of toss-up races.

Trump's presence in the midterms looms large. He has repeatedly told voters to vote like he is on the ballot , despite facing historically low approval ratings . That could backfire, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll , which finds that a plurality of registered voters, 45%, and a majority of independents, view their vote as a vote against Trump.

"Trump's strength has always been primarily devised from his relationship to the voters," said Sarah Longwell, a GOP strategist and longtime critic of the president. "Republicans have always been loath to cross him because of his sort of stronghold on the party."

However, as Americans continue to sour on the president, Longwell argued that GOP lawmakers and candidates alike may "feel more comfortable bucking him on things that they really care about."

While most of the Republicans who have distanced themselves are on the ballot this fall, the splits have not been solely confined to the campaign trail.