As the government shutdown drags on and the budget standoff shows no signs of resolution, there’s growing anxiety behind closed doors in the Republican Party — and it’s coming straight from the top. According to Morning Joe, Donald Trump is privately “nervous” that the GOP is about to get politically steamrolled once again.
While public-facing GOP leaders try to shift blame toward Democrats, the reality — as many pointed out — is that Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House. Still, they’ve landed in a mess of their own making, with no clear exit strategy.
During Thursday’s episode of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, the co-hosts rolled footage of Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SC) grasping for a narrative that pins the shutdown on Democrats. The problem? Even conservatives aren’t buying it — and the GOP’s shaky handling of the Affordable Care Act is making things worse.
Jonathan Lemire pointed out just how precarious the situation has become. “It is something that is not going away,” he said, referring to the healthcare fight that’s become the flashpoint of the budget crisis.
“This is obviously the centerpiece of this current debate here on Capitol Hill with this shutdown, you know,” Lemire continued. “But I can tell you, White House officials I spoke to last week or so are getting more and more nervous about the politics of this, that they feel like the health care issue — and we saw Senator Thune try to grab it back there a little bit today — but they feel like this is breaking away from them and they’re nervous.”
And the kicker? “The president himself, nervous that the Republicans could come out on the losing end again.”
This isn’t just standard Washington spin — it’s a moment of real panic inside GOP circles. That panic is only amplified by cracks in party unity. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the most vocal MAGA-aligned Republicans in the House, is now siding with constituents over party leaders when it comes to healthcare, particularly ACA support. That’s a serious red flag for leadership trying to keep the base in line.
For all the GOP’s efforts to paint Democrats as obstructionists, it’s becoming harder to ignore the fact that they’ve backed themselves into a corner. With healthcare at the center of the debate — and millions of Americans anxious about coverage — Republicans are finding that attacking the ACA may no longer be the political winner it once was.
Instead, they’re risking a full-blown backlash. And according to Morning Joe, Donald Trump sees the writing on the wall.
Watch the segment below:
