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President Trump is full of thiols.
We all are, actually.
The easiest spots to find them are our hairs, however anyplace carbon, sulfur and hydrogen atoms are collectively having a party, one type of molecule they can form is a thiol. The mix and number of thiols in our system varies, depending on diet and other factors, thus the compound is unique to each person.
Each animal too.
As life would have it, thiols are the main scent compound in skunk spray.
In humans, hair has to be burned before its unique combination of thiols is released into the air. Pepé Le Pew does his damage instantly, and up to 15 feet away. Not only that, the animal’s oily spray contains thioacetates, which slowly break down into thiols when wet. That is why the smell lingers long after the encounter. That is also why soap and water alone won’t do the trick. A person can shower until their skin prunes, but the skunk’s smell is not going away anytime soon.
As I said earlier, Trump is full of thiols.
And for more than a decade, since the day he came down that escalator to announce he was running for president, it was clear what he smelled like. Some Americans heard the racist remarks about immigrants and were immediately drawn to his scent. For others, it was an acquired taste. That is why the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in 2015 that he would hold his nose to vote for Trump and why in 2016 the Los Angeles Times published a headline that read: “Newport Beach voters on their reluctant Trump support: ‘I plugged my nose and voted for him.’”
Over the decade, the president has made it clear that being in his inner circle means more than tolerating the smell. It means ignoring the racism that shapes his administration policies. It means playing down his continuous attacks on the 1st Amendment, his lack of reverence for the Constitution, or the billions he and his family have made since returning to power.
“Daddy’s back,” is what Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds proudly said in January 2025.
Which is why removing the president’s picture from the Donalds gubernatorial campaign website, as he reportedly did earlier this month, won’t remove the smell of Trumpism. Not mentioning the president’s name in television ads or suddenly being against the war in Iran that Trump started — which is what Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers is attempting to do in Michigan — will not get Trump’s thiols off of his skin. Nor will deleting the phrase “Trump-endorsed candidate” from your social media bio, which is what Kansas Republican gubernatorial candidate Ty Masterson did after winning last month’s primary.
All three of those men were endorsed by the president.
Each of them knew what he smelled like.
Each of them agreed to smell like him … when it was politically advantageous. Now they can’t get the Trump stink off of them fast enough no matter how many times they lather, rinse and repeat.
The president’s popularity has cratered within the Republican Party, and heading into the general election on Nov. 3, Rogers and others are trying to present themselves as being both anti-Democrat and anti-Trump. As if the oily compound they doused themselves with in order to win the president’s favor and entice his few remaining supporters can easily be wiped clean. As if after winning office they would even dream of standing up to Trump’s agenda and representing their constituents.
Donalds, for example, has voted for that agenda more than 90% of the time. Why would anyone believe he would reverse course and begin to oppose the president’s misdeeds? Why would anyone believe that Republican Rep. Andy Biggs would do so, after being elected to serve in Arizona’s 5th District in 2016 and bowing to Trump for a decade? Or Michigan Rep. John James, whom the president handpicked to run for governor?
Maybe there are conservatives running for offices in 2026 who will stand up to the president when the time comes. But I don’t buy it.
Any incumbent with an R after their name who says they will honor the Constitution instead of the president’s whims has little documentation to support such a claim. Their record speaks for itself. And hiding red MAGA hats on the campaign trail can’t detach the R from the immigration officers who killed U.S. citizens or the inflation stemming from Trump’s war of choice. In fact, the president himself has said his name is on the ticket, suggesting he likes the way things smell.
The shameless maneuver we’re seeing from GOP candidates across the country is right out of a Poli Sci 101 textbook: In the midterms, if you’re in the party of an unpopular president, you try to distance yourself from him … right up until election day.
The hope behind this strategy is that voters are paying more attention to party messaging than their own lives. But more Americans are finally smelling the truth. Trump’s thiols are all over the receipts from the grocery store and the gas pump. And every Republican on every ballot chose to wear the same scent.
That’s why it doesn’t matter what folks like Rogers or Donalds say while campaigning. The smell is a dead giveaway.
YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow
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Ideas expressed in the piece
The article argues that Republican candidates who benefited from President Trump’s endorsement cannot convincingly separate themselves from Trumpism merely by removing his image, his name or campaign references from their websites. Byron Donalds’ website changes, including replacing “Enact the Trump agenda” with “affordability,” illustrate the strategy the piece criticizes.[4][5]
The column contends that candidates such as Donalds and Mike Rogers previously embraced Trump when his support was electorally useful and are now attempting to reposition themselves as independent because Trump has become politically vulnerable. Rogers’ call for a rapid end to the Iran war after previously supporting Trump’s authority to continue it is presented as evidence of that shift.[7]
The article maintains that past conduct matters more than current campaign language. Donalds’ congressional voting record and long-standing alliance with Trump, the piece suggests, give voters reason to doubt promises that Republican officeholders would suddenly defend constitutional limits or challenge the president’s agenda.
More broadly, the column argues that Trump remains inseparable from Republican candidates because Trump’s policies and political identity are reflected in the party’s positions on immigration, executive power, economic policy and cultural issues. The argument gains force from polling showing Trump’s approval at historically weak levels and Democrats leading Republicans on the generic congressional ballot.[10][11]
The piece concludes that distancing is primarily an election tactic rather than evidence of a genuine ideological break: candidates seek Trump’s endorsement and supporters in primaries, then minimize the association in general-election campaigns. The article therefore treats the Republican label itself as an enduring connection to Trump’s record.
Different views on the topic
Donalds’ campaign offers a different interpretation of the website changes, saying the site is intended to emphasize issues important to Floridians—including affordability, insurance costs and government transparency—while stressing that Donalds remains proud of Trump’s endorsement and has specific policy proposals of his own.[4][5]
Rogers’ campaign presents the Iran position as a response to immediate economic pressure rather than proof of political insincerity. Rogers has called for ending the war quickly, suspending gasoline taxes and temporarily halting diesel exports, arguing that Michigan families cannot wait for energy costs to fall after the conflict ends.[7]
The experience of Kansas Republican Ty Masterson complicates the article’s claim that Trump’s endorsement has become an electoral liability. Masterson publicly credited Trump’s support after winning the Republican primary, and reporting indicates that the endorsement helped him prevail in a crowded field.[6][8]
Other Republicans argue that continued alignment with Trump reflects substantive priorities, not merely personal loyalty. Candidates have cited border security, tax relief, reducing government spending and advancing legislation based on Trump’s executive actions as reasons to support the administration’s agenda.[1][2]
A broader conservative view holds that Trumpism has reshaped the Republican Party around restrictive immigration policies, economic nationalism and skepticism toward foreign intervention and established institutions. Reporting on the party’s future indicates that many Republicans expect those policies to continue even after Trump leaves the ballot, while debating which elements should be moderated.[3]
Finally, the political calculation behind distancing can be understood as responsiveness to voters rather than concealment. Polls show significant Republican support for Trump remains, even as overall approval has fallen sharply and concerns about prices and the Iran war have grown.[9][10] From this perspective, candidates may reasonably emphasize local concerns or depart from the president on particular policies while still sharing much of the broader Republican program.
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