Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro has joined a growing chorus of Republicans predicting disaster for their party in the 2026 midterms, admitting in a conversation with Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) that the GOP should prepare for defeat.

Shapiro admitted as much on Thursday’s episode of his podcast after Newsom took charge during a rapid-fire segment, asking the Daily Wire co-founder: “I mean, Republicans don’t stand a chance in this midterm, right?”

“I think they’re in for a lot of pain right now in the midterms,” ​​Shapiro said. “They’re the party in power, they have a slim majority; that would only put them behind the eight ball. There aren’t many swing districts left because of all the redistricting, but the swing districts that are left seem to be trending more blue.”

Newsom asked how big a mistake Republicans made in opposing extending health insurance subsidies from the Affordable Care Act amid last year’s government shutdown, prompting Shapiro to admit this was “obviously” a “political loser” for the party.

Shapiro also said the GOP will have a much tougher time in the midterms because President Donald Trump is “not on the ballot,” which the president himself used as an excuse after Democrats swept key races during off-year elections in November.

Shapiro promised before the 2016 presidential election that he would “never” vote for Trump, calling him at the time an “ignorant” liar who lacks “brain cells” and appeals dangerously to the racist far-right, before endorsing him in both 2020 and 2024.

On Thursday he criticized Trump’s policy of imposing tariffs on American imports and expressed concern that Trump’s current mass deportation agenda is “in practice, probably not feasible.”

Shapiro, seen here at the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference in Argentina
Shapiro, seen here at the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference in Argentina

Tomás Cuesta via Getty Images

“I don’t understand why we’re trying to make Greenland our 51st state,” Shapiro said of Trump’s threat to acquire or annex the self-governing territory of Denmark. “It seems to me that we already have defense agreements. I think that is nonsense.”

However, European leaders appeared to find Trump’s comments about Greenland far from “silly.” Last week, Greenland party leaders shared strong words for the MAGA leader, and on Tuesday, a senior Greenland government official said “children are afraid” of potential conflict with the United States.

Shapiro isn’t the only conservative warning of potential doom for the Republican Party in the midterms. News host Laura Ingraham, her former colleague Bill O’Reilly and Republican strategist Karl Rove have expressed concern about a political unrest.