The following article by Michael D. Shear was posted on the New York Times website August 8, 2018:
WASHINGTON — In President Trump’s mind, he has become the indispensable man, the political force singularly responsible for the narrow lead that Troy Balderson, the Republican candidate, clings to in a heavily conservative Ohio House district and that Kris W. Kobach maintains in the Kansas governor’s primary.
But the presidential braggadocio that followed Tuesday’s election night squeakers ignores another reality that the White House is loath to acknowledge: Mr. Trump — and his chaotic, controversy-laden tenure in the Oval Office — is largely responsible for the toxic political climate that is undermining the Republican candidates he is trying to save.
Economic growth topped 4 percent earlier this year. Unemployment is low; stock prices are high. Yet Republicans speak darkly of the awful environment their candidates face in midterm elections 90 days away.