United States President Donald Trump has announced that he will spend 32 days travelling and campaigning for the midterm elections in November, which will decide which party controls Congress. The upcoming race is widely seen as a referendum on Trump’s second term in office, and it could decide whether his political agenda faces legislative hurdles for the next two years. Trump has even speculated that, if Democrats take control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, he could face a third impeachment. Still, on Tuesday, Trump expressed optimism as he spoke to reporters.
He also denied that Republican candidates are seeking to distance themselves from his administration ahead of the vote. “You love me, and I love them,” Trump said, as he outlined his plans for a multi-state tour to support Republican midterm contenders. “Just so you understand, they all want me to go. I’m one person. They all want me to go campaign,” he added. Trump described his travel itinerary as “literally a 32-day tour”, set to include visits to states such as Texas and Ohio, where toss-up races are under way.
But critics have speculated that Trump’s slipping popularity could spell trouble for the Republican Party, which hopes to hold onto its majorities in both chambers of Congress. Recent polls suggest that Trump’s approval has fallen to new lows as voters express frustration over the rising cost of living, caused in part by Trump’s decision to launch a war against Iran that has roiled global energy markets. A Wall Street Journal poll released last week found that Trump’s approval rating sits at 37 percent. That marks the lowest rate for a president in the lead-up to the midterms since the outlet began conducting the poll in 1990, when George HW Bush was in office.
Still, Trump has positioned himself as a central figure in the Republican Party’s bid to win the midterm races. This month, the party held its first-ever midterm political convention in Texas, with Trump delivering a keynote address. Trump’s allies have also pledged that the Republican leader would “campaign like it’s 2024 again”, a reference to his successful second bid for the presidency. Supporters have speculated he could have success in mobilising so-called low-propensity voters, who are considered less likely to cast a ballot.
Some of his tactics have attracted outcry, however. The Department of Homeland Security, which has played a central role in Trump’s mass deportation push, has recently come under scrutiny for using $20m to create campaign-style s lauding the Republican leader’s accomplishments. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have slammed those efforts as an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds that could violate anti-propaganda laws. “We should not have to remind you that using government funding to create or air political ads like the ones that have been running over the last few days is illegal and a shockingly corrupt misuse of taxpayer dollars,” Democratic Senator Patty Murray wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in a letter on Tuesday.
