MSNBC host Joe Scarborough says that President Trump is doing long-term damage to the GOP.
On Thursday’s “Morning Joe,” Scarborough — a frequent critic of Trump who has raised questions about the president’s mental stability — said Republicans appear to be headed toward a “historic loss in the midterms.”
“Republicans think right now that they can just skate and Donald Trump can tweet misogynist things about Democratic senators and he can tweet racist things. He can go to Charlottesville and find something nice to say about neo-Nazis,” Scarborough said.
{mosads}”Republicans think, ‘Oh, you know what, he’ll be gone in a couple years.’ No, he is destroying the Republican Party for years to come.”
Scarborough, a former Florida congressman, announced last July — six months into Trump’s presidency — that he was leaving the GOP and becoming an independent.
During his Thursday show, Scarborough pointed to the large number of House Republicans who have said they don’t plan to seek reelection this year as evidence that conditions are becoming hostile for his former party.
He also cited recent polls that show Trump with historically low approval ratings.
A Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this week found 36 percent of respondents approve of the way Trump is handling his job, compared with 59 percent who disapprove.
Among people aged 18 to 34, just 26 percent approve of Trump’s job performance and 67 percent disapprove.