CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Even though President Donald Trump believes Republicans should win the congressional midterm elections, he’s still bracing for the consequences of their failure.
Someone is bound to be blamed, and Trump told a rally in Tennessee on Saturday that he expected it to be him.
“If we don’t win the midterms, they’re going to blame me,” Trump said. “You know that. If we do win, I’m not going to get any credit. That’s true. I’m not going to get any credit.”
“But I’m working my ass off,” he added. “You better get out and vote.”
A person familiar with the matter said Trump was in “struggling mode” ahead of the midterm elections and prepared for the worst-case outcome.
Midterm elections often punish the party of the sitting president, and Trump’s popularity doesn’t help the Republican cause. Only 38% approve of his performance in office, compared with 59% who disapprove, according to an NBC News poll average.
Trump hopes to challenge historical trends and provide voters with an unusual sweetener by energizing a core base of supporters who may be inclined to sit out the election, if they can retain Republican majorities in the House and Senate.
“If you vote on November 3rd, you will get $5,000,” he reminded at the end of his hour-and-a-half speech.
That’s the amount of checks he’s promised to send to adults if Republicans win the midterm elections. The total price is estimated at $1.3 trillion.
As the election approaches, Trump is really pushing himself and keeping up a crazy schedule. Tennessee is the seventh state he has visited since early October. He had planned to fly to Eighth Alabama later that day for the Georgia-Alabama football game, but the trip was canceled when Hurricane Isaias hit.
Trump used part of the rally to debunk the idea that his approval ratings were declining. In a social media post on Saturday, he wrote that his unpopular idea was a “false narrative.” On stage, he played a clip from CNN showing that his support among MAGA supporters is nearly unanimous and has not dipped since the 2024 election. (CNN was one of three news outlets the Trump administration banned from the White House last month).
“I’m very popular, really,” Trump told the crowd.
For Trump, traveling to deep red congressional districts in deep red states like Tennessee in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections seems like a waste of time. Republicans are expected to sweep the state’s House and Senate races.
Trump’s rally was held at an indoor arena in a northern Tennessee county where he won the 2024 presidential race by 18 points.
Trump himself said the state’s congressional candidates are already on the path to victory, with or without him.
“These guys are all going to win,” he said. “These congressmen are amazing. So, I’m like, ‘What the hell am I doing in Tennessee?'”
In answer to his own question, he said he wanted to “reward places that automatically treat you well.”
Trump has won Tennessee in all three presidential contests.
Other Republicans say Trump is sticking to a smart strategy: mobilizing his supporters and ensuring they vote on Nov. 3 even though he is not attending the vote.
“It unites the base,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said in an interview before Trump took office. “That’s really what we have to see in the midterms. That’s what you have to have: the base.”
Much of Trump’s speech was an account of what he considered his major achievements. He cited an increase in median household income and a decrease in the national poverty rate during his first year in office.
Never shy about renaming American landmarks, he also considered renaming the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans In a way that ensures he is not forgotten.
He probably said jokingly, “We call it the ‘Trump Ocean.'” Or, “American Ocean,” or something like that. No, we have to do this. Before I go out we should have, I think we should have an ocean, we need a great river. “