On April 20, 2026, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles summoned dozens of Republican political consultants from across the country to an emergency strategy meeting at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington — the clearest sign yet that the administration recognizes the Iran war is becoming an electoral disaster.
The meeting came as Trump's approval hit 37% in an NBC News poll (32,433 adults) — his second-term low. Two-thirds of Americans disapprove of his handling of inflation and Iran. Energy Secretary Chris Wright admitted gas prices won't fall below $3/gallon until at least 2027 (Trump called him “totally wrong”).
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on Fox News: “If we lose the midterms, it'll be because we didn't talk about what moms and dads are worried about... primarily the cost of living.” A GOP source told Politico: “If we don't see the $3 gallon of gas, we're gonna get killed.”
Former Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, who left the White House earlier in April to run Trump's political operation externally, co-organized the meeting. Democrats have won a slew of off-year and special elections. Fox News confirmed the meeting, framing it as “strategy coordination” while acknowledging “a challenging political climate fueled by persistent inflation, rising gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran, and the president's underwater approval ratings.”
This was the second such gathering — the first was in February at the Capitol Hill Club, before the war spiraled.