A plainly reeling Donald Trump’s circling the wagons and tossing Hail Marys following one of the worst midterm wipeouts in modern history for either party in America’s political duopoly.

I suppose this doesn’t need repeating, but just in case: What sets the 2026 interim elections apart is the combination of lost House seats, Senate-seat flips and state-level losses. It’s about breadth, not necessarily any specific number.

If you want a quintessential datapoint, choose one that captures the scope of the rout. Consider, for example, a Reuters analysis which found that the GOP lost vote share in 99% of some 2,100 counties where a majority of cast-ballots were counted by the morning after Election Day.

“The party lost votes in rich and poor areas, in cities and in suburbs,” Brad Heath and Jason Lange wrote, in the editorial accompanying the linked statistical roundup. Republicans’ share of the vote dropped by an average of 8ppt versus Trump’s share in the presidential election two years ago, they added.

Unsure of what to do next, Trump ousted Susie Wiles, the architect of his 2024 campaign, which many describe as the greatest political comeback of all time. (“Greatest” isn’t a value judgment there. It’s just a reference to the ostensibly long odds of a twice-impeached, convicted felon blamed for inciting an armed insurrection returning to the Oval Office.)

Stephen Miller’s chief of staff now, which… I mean, what do you want me to say? Apparently I have to say something, according to a trio of reader emails. So here goes.

If anyone’s actually dangerous in Trumplandia, it’s Miller. He’s the genuine article: A dead-eyed, pathological ideologue who makes fewer apologies than Trump. And Trump makes not at all. With Miller, it’s not an act. He’s not pandering for votes, nor putting on a show for anybody. He means it. All of it. And none of it’s good.

On a Trumpland nefarity spectrum (and no, “nefarity” isn’t a word, but it sure sounds like one) where 1’s Scott Bessent and 10’s Laura Loomer, Miller’s 20. If this were a basketball video game where skillset attributes were determined solely by reference to Trump’s original, Pat Buchanan-on-biker-speed platform, Miller would be a 99 overall.

If there’s a silver lining (and I actually think there is), it’s this: Miller will probably (read: surely) advocate for winding down the war with Iran. Not because he gives a shit about the suffering its caused in the region, but rather because it’s inconsistent with his inwardly-focused agenda for America.

Do note: Miller’s never really been on the outs with Trump, and that makes him unique. He’s a sycophant, sure, but being obsequious to an agenda you’ve been instrumental in crafting more or less from day one is something quite different from the sort of pitiable groveling Bill Murray lampooned live on CNBC last week, when he challenged Kevin Hasssett to say “My dog just died” without smiling.

Miller — and I’d say “with apologies” except that I suspect he’d take it as a compliment — is a Rasputin-type. I’m hardly the first person to make that comparison. In Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker’s “I Alone Can Fix It,” Mark Milley called Miller “…a Rasputin character, always whispering devilish ideas in the king’s ear.” Two years previous, Abigail Tracy, writing for Vanity Fair, described Miller’s role as “more Rasputin” than anything else.

Suffice to say Trump listens to and trusts Miller, and while that could work out for the better in the narrow context of the Gulf entanglement, it doesn’t bode well for domestic politics. It’s especially inauspicious for Trump’s relationship with a Democratic Congress. Miller’s not a guy who compromises, particularly not on issues associated with the culture wars he helped start and zealously perpetuates.

Other ideas for post-election staff shakeups are just tragicomedy. Over the weekend, Trump tried to convince Dana White to take the press secretary role. White reportedly declined. I suppose the offer goes to Conor McGregor next. Then maybe Nicki Minaj. (And Christ on a bike, Nicki: What the hell happened? Cocaine’s “a helluva drug,” sure, but this is career suicide, and unlike Kanye, you’re not gonna be able to resurrect it.)