‘Full-Blown Panic Mode’: Fox Anchor Confronts Trump Ally Donalds Over Razor-Thin Race to Replace Waltz

Fox News anchor Shannon Bream confronted Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) — a close ally of President Donald Trump — over reports the GOP is in “full-blown panic mode” over a special election to replace National Security Adviser Mike Waltz in Congress.

Last week, Trump pulled one nomination — Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-NY) appointment as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations — to protect the razor-thin GOP majority in the House of Representatives, and the special election to fill Waltz’s seat in a plus-30 Trump district is polling within the margin of error.

On this week’s edition of Fox News Channel’s Fox News Sunday, Bream pressed Donalds on the state of the special election and the imperiled GOP majority:

BREAM: Florida Congressman Byron Donalds has officially kicked off his campaign to become the Sunshine State’s next governor. And he’s already scored President Trump’s coveted endorsement. Congressman Donalds joins us now. Welcome back.

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): Good to be back with you. Good morning, Shannon.

BREAM: OK. I want to get to your race, but first, these two House races in Florida this week, closer than Republicans would like them to be. In the race to fill Mike Waltz’ open seat, Florida Politics says this: The polls show that the special election is within the margin of error.

Wall Street Journal is reporting that Democrats say you are in full-blown panic mode, meaning Republicans. Why is that race so close?

DONALDS: Well, look, special elections are always different. Democrats obviously are highly motivated because they took a shellacking last November. They don’t like DOGE. They don’t like that Donald Trump is making America great again. And so they’re going to the polls.

As long as Republicans turn out in congressional district six in Florida, which by the way, the voting reports from the last couple of days show that Republican votes are surging in that congressional district. But as long as Republican voters get to the polls and vote, they’re going to be just fine. And I’ll be remiss if I don’t add the Supreme Court race going on in Wisconsin.

Same dynamic. Democrat voters, because of their dramatic losses last November, they’re motivated. Republican voters, we have to get to the polls. We got to show up and vote in Wisconsin for the Supreme Court race. And in Florida, Congressional District 6, Congressional District 1. Republican voters have to turn out. They got to show up, Election Day’s Tuesday.

And if you want Donald Trump to be successful in his mission to make America great again, Republicans have to continue to go to the polls.

BREAM: Yes. We’ve got one of the judges in that Wisconsin race coming up in just a little bit in the show to look at that as well. Part of this this week, the concern about what’s going on in the House and the makeup there. And we’ve got a chart to put up for folks just to see how close this is. There are four seats. They’re empty for various reasons, but otherwise, the GOP can’t afford to lose anyone.

Watch above via Fox News Channel’s Fox News Sunday.