Blue Wave threatens Donald Trump

The Republican crisis may cause the party to lose their majority in Congress.

Behind the headlines of porn star accusations and fired FBI directors, President Donald Trump faces yet another problem hard to ignore. The Democrats are closing in all over the country and for the first time, and possibly in the near future, they could actually force the president into a prosecution process.

Although proven to be difficult, Trump and his peers only have to keep together to remain in control. In the absence of a true leader, the Democratic opposition have fought desperately to make their mark in both chambers of the Congress.

When all seats in the House of Representatives and one third of the Senate seats are being vacated in November, the situation may change rapidly. In recent weeks, several opinion polls have shown a small majority for the Democrats in the House of Representatives. The main reasons being widespread dissatisfaction with Trump, but above all the fact that 43 Republicans in Congress decided not to try for re-election in the fall. Some aim for new missions, while others are afraid of losing.

- Many Republicans simply feel awful right now. This is the recurring theme I hear from my former colleagues. The reality is that Trump has made the climate really, really difficult, explained the former Republican congressman David Jolly in an interview with NBC News.

When the House of Representatives’ Speaker Paul Ryan last week announced his resignation, panic spread within the party. The decision was fairly expected, but it means the Republicans are losing one of their strongest politicians.

Even though Donald Trump has been the one in the White House, Ryan has, by many, been considered the party’s true leader. On several occasions he has openly criticized Trump and mediated between the President and the party's congressmen. Many also hoped for Ryan to challenge Trump in the next Republican presidential candidacy.

The Republican focus is now shifting towards defending its scarce majority in the Senate. The party has the advantage of defending only 9 mandates, compared to the Democrats’ 24. Out of them, only a handful are considered to be in play, and the Democrats have a very small margin of error. Nevertheless, nothing is for certain.

In recent months, the Republicans have lost special elections in Alabama and Pennsylvania's 18th district, two districts they up to now have dominated.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are now hitting the road to campaigning. Historically, the sitting president´s party has a rough time in the first interim elections. If the 'Blue Wave' washes over the US in November, Trump's next two years will be significantly tougher than the first two. If, on the other hand, the party succeeds in riding out the storm, they will have wind in their sails by 2020.