Will 2026 Be the Year Voters Pull the Emergency Brake?

About this episode

<p>The midterms are coming, and President Trump is already sounding the alarm. For this week’s round table, the columnists David French and Jamelle Bouie and the Opinion national politics writer Michelle Cottle try to prepare listeners — and themselves — for how each party will frame Trump’s second term and falling approval rating.</p><p>See Jamelle Bouie, Ross Douthat and Kathleen Kingsbury of Times Opinion live at the Library Foundation of Los Angeles on Jan. 20 for “Trump: The First Year of His Second Term.” Get tickets <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trump-the-first-year-of-his-second-term-registration-1980147091254?aff=ebdsoporgprofile" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Thoughts? Email us at theopinions@nytimes.com.</p><p>Read the full transcript here: https://nytimes.com/2026/01/17/opinion/2026-midterms-trump.html</p><p>This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Derek Arthur. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Daniel Ramirez. Original music by Pat McCusker, Isaac Jones and Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The director of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>