2026-09-11
47 分钟The Economist.
I'm John Prideaux and this is Checks and Balance from The Economist.
Each week we take one big theme shaping American politics and explore it in depth.
Today, Republicans are predicted to do badly in the midterm elections.
How much is Donald Trump to blame?
The Economist's prediction model says that Republicans are very likely to lose the House
and that their chances of keeping hold of the Senate are a toss-up.
The MAGA faithful have been gathering in Dallas this week
for the party's midterm mini-convention,
where Donald Trump, despite his unpopularity with the wider public,
remains the center of attention.
It's common for a president's party to do badly in midterm elections,
but redistricting and a favorable Senate map
should have given the Republicans an advantage.
So what are Republicans trying to do to protect their power?
Joining me this week to talk about the state of the Republican Party
heading into the midterms are James Bennet, who's in Dallas,
and we'll hear more about what's going on in Dallas later,
and Charlotte Howard, who's in New York.
How are you both doing?