Trump Eyes Fall Guy Ahead of Looming Midterm Humiliation

Kevin Lamarque / REUTERS President Donald Trump has a scapegoat in mind in case the midterms go south for Republicans.

Trump, 80, is looking at James Blair, his former deputy chief of staff and the architect of the GOP’s frantic midterm redistricting efforts, to shoulder the blame if a blue wave comes to pass in November, according to Puck .

With only three weeks to go until voters decide who will control Congress, Republicans are privately “freaking out” over Democrats pulling ahead in most of the latest polls, the outlet reported.

Not one for taking accountability, the president is seemingly considering placing his former political director on the chopping block.

“Trump is just setting James up to take the fall,” a GOP operative close to the White House told Puck.

Blair, 37, came under the president’s fire last week after a New York Times report found that he and top Trump adviser Chris LaCivita were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each to advise on voting issues within the pro-Putin territory of Republika Srpska.

On October 7, Trump stated that the two men were “outside consultants” who “do not work for me.” “They are allowed to do work for others, just like all consultants in Washington, D.C.,” Trump dictated to Natalie Harp , who typed up and shared the president’s words to Truth Social.

“I do not have any idea who else they work for but will, on reflection, ask them and, if there’s a conflict, I will terminate them, immediately!” In April 2025, Blair formally pitched the idea of mid-decade redistricting to Trump, which later gained traction in June as he met with GOP lawmakers in states like Texas and Missouri to redraw congressional maps.

Nine states eventually passed new congressional maps ahead of the midterm elections.

Blair departed his role as deputy chief of staff this April to helm the Trump-backed super PAC MAGA Inc., in a move Trump called a “short leave of absence.” The president said he would return to the White House following the election.

Over the last few weeks, Trump has gone on the offensive by holding rallies across the country for Republican candidates in key races.

The president has repeatedly urged his supporters to “pretend I’m on the ticket.” “If we don’t win the midterms, they are going to blame me,” the president said at a rally in Tennessee last weekend.

“If we do win, I’ll get no credit whatsoever.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House and Blair for comment.

Read more at The Daily Beast.