Loyalty to President Donald Trump may not get you much these days. His tariffs are bruising his rich friends, and some of his most loyal foot soldiers in Congress have essentially been told to stop dreaming big.
Take Rep. Elise Stefanik. Axios reported on Thursday that Trump is trying to clear the GOP primary field in New York so Stefanik can run for governor against Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul. To grease the wheels, he’s already endorsed two potential GOP-primary rivals—Rep. Mike Lawler and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman—for reelection to their current posts, in a clear attempt to nudge them out of the way so Stefanik can avoid a potentially damaging primary.
In some ways, the whole thing is kind of sad. After Trump posted on Truth Social, basically telling Lawler to stay put, Stefanik dutifully reposted it, as if those two were all but shouting, You’re great right where you are, not in the job Stefanik wants.
This is the classic Trump playbook: Move pieces, make promises, cut people out, reward loyalty—sometimes. But this move reeks of a consolation prize.
Back in March, Trump abruptly pulled Stefanik’s nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations as House Republicans contended with their razor-thin majority. In her place, Trump nominated former national security adviser Mike Waltz, the genius behind the “Signalgate” scandal, for the cushy job and its flashy residence.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul
Now Stefanik, who gave up her leadership post to be U.N. ambassador, finds herself back in Congress with little power or platform. And her path forward now rests on a risky gubernatorial run in a blue state.
Maybe she thinks the recent rightward shift in parts of New York gives her a shot. And Hochul isn’t exactly beloved in the state, with 44% of the state’s voters having a favorable view of her and 43% having an unfavorable view, according to the latest poll from Siena College.
But Democrats have been pulling off a string of upsets in elections since November, and the 2026 elections are shaping up to be a tough year for Republicans nationwide. Recent history also isn’t in her favor: New York hasn’t elected a Republican governor in over 20 years. It’s possible that Stefanik, like Trump, is just too deep into the MAGA haze to see how steep her odds really are.
She’s laying the groundwork anyway—working the GOP circuit from Albany to Suffolk, headlining fundraisers, schmoozing at county picnics, and eyeing the race like someone who needs an escape hatch. And can you blame her? Her fall has been swift. After clawing her way up the House GOP ranks, she’s now sidelined.
Meanwhile, Trump has no issue treating his allies like disposable tools. Just ask former Cabinet members, his so-called friends, or even Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who flirted with a Senate run in Georgia before getting iced out. Loyalty in the MAGA world is expected, not rewarded.
Axios floated that if Stefanik loses, Trump might hand her another job post-2026. So yes, there could be yet another consolation prize waiting in the wings. But that’s all she seems to get from this alliance: crumbs.
Stefanik tied herself to Trump, hoping the ride would lead to power and prestige. Instead, what she’s gotten so far is a shaky gubernatorial bid in a blue state, a demotion in Congress, and a front-row seat to the slow collapse of her party’s machinery.
Maybe she and Trump’s billionaire backers, who’ve also taken hits under his tariffs, can sit around and swap war stories about everything they’ve sacrificed—and everything they never got in return.
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