House Speaker Mike Johnson has spent recent weeks holding campaign events in key congressional districts, pushing a specific message: He and his party are doing a great job with their majority in Congress.

“We talk about record over rhetoric,” the Louisiana Republican told reporters in Michigan last week, adding, “History will record this will be one of the most successful and productive Congresses in the history of the institution, since 1789. Why? Because we did what said we were going to do.”

Johnson’s claim about congressional productivity was plainly absurd, but even if we put that aside for now, the House speaker’s underlying message is that voters gave Republicans control and the party has delivered accordingly.

Part of the problem with the pitch is that it’s not true. Another part of the problem is that most voters apparently realize it’s not true. But perhaps most striking of all is that President Donald Trump keeps hanging his own ostensible allies out to dry by suggesting he doesn’t think it’s true, either.

Earlier this month, the president reflected on the upcoming midterm elections and expressed concern about conservative voters casting ballots. “Because a lot of them are very angry at Republicans, to be honest with you,” he told Punchbowl News.

As part of the same exchange, Trump said he wasn’t sure why so many voters are upset, although he quickly added, “I mean, they’re angry at Republicans, but they’re not angry at me.”

This was spectacularly wrong — the president is unpopular on a historic scale — but with 10 weeks remaining before Election Day, he’s leaning into the message with increasing enthusiasm.

On Wednesday afternoon, he used his social media platform to promote a lengthy rant from right-wing influencer Matt Van Swol, who wrote, as part of a longer message, “I don’t think the GOP fully grasp [sic] how badly they are f–––ing up right now.”

The same message, which the president amplified but did not write, added, “I’m talking to people who normally have ZERO interest in politics who are legitimately pissed off. They are not seeing the major reform they thought would happen and are REALLY MAD about it.”

So with 69 days left in the election cycle and early voting beginning in some states in just a few weeks, the sitting Republican president thought it would be a good idea to promote a furious tirade directed at his own political party, even as GOP leaders try to brag about how proud they are of their record.

To a degree, I can appreciate the rationale behind the messaging: Trump is clearly aware of the headwinds facing Republicans, and he’s laying the groundwork to avoid blame if Democrats make major gains.

But that doesn’t change the fact that the president is throwing his own party’s congressional majorities under the bus at a key moment.

After Trump’s comments to Punchbowl News a few weeks ago, a CNN analysis noted that Republicans “have got to be furious that he’s suggesting it’s them — rather than the war and all the other unpopular things he’s done — that’s jeopardizing their majorities.” The piece added that the president had extended a “middle finger to the GOP’s midterm worries.”

Three weeks later, Trump decided to use his other hand to do the same thing.

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