Ex-GOP Setmayer : Republicans Tripping Over Themselves To Be More MAGA Instead Of Helping Americans

On September 25, 2025, MSNBC handed the mic to Tara Setmayer—a former GOP communications director on Capitol Hill and a Lincoln Project alum—to attack Republicans and President Trump on Chris Jansing Reports. The Lincoln Project is an operation founded by anti-Trump Republicans whose entire purpose is, in their own words, to “defeat Trump and Trumpism.” Yet MSNBC brings on anti-Trump people like Setmayer as Conservative voices, using them to deliver talking points against the very party they used to represent.

Chris Jansing set the stage:

But it also shows a huge gender gap among women. And we know in the last election, Donald Trump’s election was driven by men, particularly young men. And now we’re seeing this gender gap growing. Should all Republicans who are gonna come up for reelection in a way that he is not be worried about this right now?

Tara Setmayer delivered the attack:

Of course, I mean, this is, this is why Republicans are trying to rig the midterm elections with midterm decade, you know, mid-decade restricting. They know that they are in trouble because a lot of the promises that Donald Trump made to the American people, he’s not fulfilling them. On economics, on all these other things to improve people’s lives, he’s betrayed the American people to line his own pockets and to do favors for his billionaire buddies, which make up the majority of his cabinet. And he’s fixated on a retribution tour.

The Republicans who are running for reelection in the midterms are trying to figure out how to navigate this. Unfortunately, a lot of Republicans are tripping over themselves to see who can suck up to the president more and be more MAGA than they are pushing policies that actually help the American people.

And for women in this country, the effects of the betrayal bill that got passed on our healthcare, on our access to healthcare, rural healthcare, rural hospitals, childhood cancer, all of these things are being impacted by Donald Trump in ways that really are difficult for the American people, particularly women who are often the heads of households and making the healthcare decisions. So sure, Republicans have to try to figure out how to navigate this. And women should and are, as you see in this polling coming out, speaking up and saying, wait a minute, this is not what we voted for and they should pay the price at the ballot box for it.”

Claim: Trump has a “gender gap” problem with women
Chris Jansing opened by insisting there is a huge gender gap. But this is misleading. Women are not a single voting bloc. Women are concerned about border security, national security, fighting crime, supporting the police, inflation, protecting parental rights in education, defending religious freedom, and limits on abortion — issues where Republicans lead. Pretending women are united against the GOP is nothing more than MSNBC spin.

Claim: “Republicans are trying to rig the midterm elections”
Setmayer’s very first claim is that Republicans are trying to “rig the midterms.” That’s pure projection. Both parties fight over redistricting maps, and courts decide when lines cross legal limits. Democrats are just as guilty of gerrymandering, and in some states, they’ve fought to lock in power for decades. Pretending this is a Republican problem is just Setmayer’s way of rewriting the rules to favor her side.

Claim: Trump isn’t fulfilling promises / “betrayed the American people to line his own pockets”
She then pivoted to the claim that Trump hasn’t delivered, that he’s “betrayed the American people to line his own pockets,” and that his cabinet is full of “billionaire buddies.” That’s recycled slander. Trump has only been back in office nine months, and he has already acted on his promises: securing the border, restarting deportations, reopening energy production, cutting red tape, and putting America first. These are tangible results.

Yes, a handful of wealthy business leaders serve in his administration, but the majority are not billionaires. The claim that Trump is enriching himself in office is nothing more than a recycled MSNBC talking point.

Claim: “Republicans are tripping over themselves to see who can suck up to the president more and be more MAGA than they are pushing policies that actually help the American people.”
Next, she sneers that Republicans are competing to be “more MAGA” instead of focusing on policies that help people. But this shows how out of touch she is. MAGA stands for “Make America Great Again” — and at its core, that means putting Americans first with stronger borders, safer streets, lower costs, energy independence, and more freedom for families. Being “MAGA” means serving Americans — not lobbyists, not global elites, not special interests. If Republicans are competing to be “more MAGA,” that means they’re competing to deliver more for Americans. That’s not weakness — that’s accountability.

Claim: Trump’s “betrayal bill” hurts women and healthcare
Finally, Setmayer tosses out a jumbled fear list on the “betrayal bill” — healthcare, rural hospitals, childhood cancer. She’s referring to the Big Beautiful Bill. But there’s no evidence the law she fears is dismantling rural healthcare or crippling cancer treatment.

Trump’s agenda is already pushing price transparency in healthcare, lowering prescription drug costs, expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and giving patients more control over their care.

The One Big Beautiful Bill includes healthcare reforms intended to empower patients — expanding access to HSAs, making permanent pre-deductible telehealth coverage for people with high-deductible plans, and giving individuals more flexibility in care.

Women don’t need MSNBC’s scare tactics — they deserve real solutions, and that’s what Trump is working to deliver.

Tara Setmayer left the Republican Party in November 2020, citing her objection to Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the 2020 election. According to her website, she now identifies as a conservative independent and “sane conservative.” But let’s be real: if she truly stood for conservative values, MSNBC would never give her airtime. And if she were actually conservative, she wouldn’t be spending her time trashing Donald Trump, one of the most visible conservative leaders in America today.

Can you believe this woman was once a GOP communications director?

Setmayer cashed in her GOP résumé to become a reliable mouthpiece for MSNBC. She calls Trump a failure while ignoring the obvious: in just nine months, he has already acted on the promises he ran on and is moving the country in a different direction.

On the border, Trump has restored enforcement, restarted deportations, and removed dangerous illegal aliens—literally saving American lives. On energy, he has reopened domestic oil and gas production, rolled back costly climate mandates, and eased restrictions that drove up utility bills. On regulation, he has killed DEI mandates, cut red tape, and given small businesses breathing room. In foreign affairs, he has stopped appeasing hostile nations, demanded fair contributions from allies, and put American security ahead of globalist agendas. He has also appointed judges and officials who are committed to enforcing the law and defending the Constitution. He’s taken on the education system, standing up for parental rights, pushing school choice, and stopping federal funds from being used to promote woke indoctrination. He’s begun cutting wasteful spending, putting America’s workers and families first, and moving quickly to undo the damage of the Biden years.

Trump’s tariff policies are generating real revenue: In August 2025 alone, the U.S. collected about $31.4 billion in tariffs — the largest monthly haul reported so far this year. Through July, year-to-date tariff revenues had already reached about $122 billion, helping federal finances in a way many critics didn’t expect. Economic growth is also rebounding, with the U.S. economy expanding at a 3.8% annual rate in Q2 2025 after revisions. And while the media won’t highlight it, I saw unleaded gas at $2.90 a gallon just yesterday — relief Americans notice.

And don’t forget — Setmayer left the Republican Party because Trump refused to concede the 2020 election. But millions of Americans saw what happened: last-minute rule changes, mass mail-in ballots with no safeguards, ballot harvesting, late-night dumps, dead voters on the rolls, unsecured drop boxes, courts rewriting laws that legislatures never approved, and more. Walking away from the GOP over Trump’s fight against that corruption isn’t a principled stand — it’s proof that Setmayer abandoned conservatives, not the other way around.

What MSNBC served up wasn’t journalism. It was pure propaganda — a staged hit job against President Trump and the Republican Party. Fake news indeed.