US President Donald Trump has begun a 32-day campaign ahead of November’s midterm elections in which his war on Iran and handling of the economy could hurt the Republican Party.
On Thursday, Trump traveled from Washington, D.C., to attend back-to-back rallies in Texas and Oklahoma.
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In his first stop in Denton, Texas, Mr. Trump sought to shift the narrative around his slumping approval ratings and offered a personal assessment of his administration’s performance.
“I give the government, the economy, everything an A+,” Trump told supporters at truck manufacturer Peterbilt Motors.
The president also blamed unfair media coverage for his growing unpopularity, arguing that it took an onslaught of pre-election rallies to set the record straight.
“We’re doing a very poor job of promoting people, but we’re doing a very good job of running the country,” Trump said.
But President Trump’s poll numbers are raising concerns about the Republican Party’s prospects ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Although Trump himself is not on the ballot, Republican candidates across the country are trying to protect right-wing majorities in both houses of Congress and key state and local offices.
The economy and President Trump’s war with Iran are expected to have a major impact on the election outcome.
On Thursday, the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released a new poll showing that 71 percent of Americans do not support a war that has raised fuel prices.
About half of survey respondents also said they were worried they wouldn’t be able to afford food or gas. Only 26% of respondents approved of President Trump’s economic response.
take center stage
Still, despite record low approval ratings, Trump has positioned himself as key to the Republican Party’s medium-term strategy.
At the Republican Party’s first midterm convention in September, Trump encouraged voters to consider his record while at the polls. “I want you to pretend I’m on the ballot,” he said.
During Thursday’s tour, he touted the effectiveness of the tariff campaign, crediting it with creating thousands of manufacturing jobs.
“For decades, you have been cruelly betrayed by politicians, terrible politicians who have allowed foreign trade fraudsters to steal your paychecks, pillage your factories, and shut down your jobs,” President Trump told the Peterbilt workers. “If I wasn’t here, they would still be doing it, believe me.”
But President Trump’s tariffs have been highly controversial, prompting a series of court challenges. Critics argue that the steep import taxes exceed the president’s constitutional authority.
President Trump also used his stump speech to allay concerns about the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, which began on February 28th. Although both sides have declared victory, a ceasefire remains far from achieved.
“As promised, I guarantee you that Iran will come to an end quickly. Energy prices will fall quickly and rapidly,” Trump said.
“It would be easy to win now,” he added. “I believe we will win right after the election, but maybe before the election.”
However, as a result of the war, Iran has suspended commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global fuel trade.
The price of diesel, the fuel used by the trucks manufactured at the plant, soared to a record high of more than $6 a gallon (3.8 liters) last week. Gasoline prices are rising as well.
Will it hurt or help fellow Republicans?
However, President Trump has acknowledged that the risks of becoming president in the upcoming midterm elections are high.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 seats in the 100-member Senate are at stake.
Losing Republican control in either chamber could cripple President Trump’s legislative agenda during the final two years of his second term.
However, President Trump has also expressed concern about the possibility of being impeached a third time after being impeached twice as the first president.
At his second stop Thursday in Durant, Oklahoma, Republican leaders echoed those concerns. “Pretend you’re running,” he told the crowd. “If we don’t win, they’re going to impeach me.”
Many of the places President Trump plans to visit this month are seen as reliably Republican voting districts. After visiting Texas and Oklahoma on Thursday, President Trump is scheduled to head to Alabama, Ohio and Nebraska in the coming days.
Still, some races normally seen as close for Republicans have become more competitive in recent months.
In Texas, for example, a Democrat has not won a statewide election since the 1990s. But this year, the state’s attorney general, Republican Ken Paxton, is struggling to win a race against Democrat James Talarico in the Senate.
At both stops Thursday, Trump sought to shore up Paxton’s prospects. For example, at the Peterbilt plant, he called Paxton “the greatest attorney general in the United States.”
“We have to elect this guy,” Trump said, before pivoting to criticizing Talarico, who Republicans have tried to portray as unaffiliated with Texas’ massive beef industry.
President Trump repeated unsubstantiated rumors about Talarico, saying, “He’s a vegan.” “And veganism doesn’t work in Texas.”
However, leaked audio appeared to show Paxton lamenting the negative impact Trump had on holding the Republican midterm convention in Texas last month.
“It brought our numbers down, everyone’s numbers went down,” Paxton was quoted as saying.
President Trump promotes social conservatism
Nevertheless, Trump believes he can use his pre-election visit to highlight social issues and help rally voters to the Republican cause.
On Thursday, he returned to familiar themes like immigration and transgender rights, painting them as part of the Democratic Party’s “radical” agenda.
“They want women in men’s sports. They want open borders. They want transgender mutilation of your children,” Trump said. “What the hell are you thinking, liberals?”
The president also used his Texas background to push back against data center critics, despite bipartisan concerns.
Critics worry that the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) is driving the proliferation of data centers, which require large amounts of electricity and water to process large amounts of data.
Although President Trump has dismissed concerns about AI as largely unfounded, a poll last month found that 53% of Americans are “very” or “extremely” concerned about the environmental impact of AI technology.
Even Republican lawmakers in Texas are responding to public pressure for a growing number of data centers, with more than 300 in operation and hundreds more under construction.
In August, Gov. Greg Abbott called for an audit of all data centers to map water and electricity usage, and the following month, in his role as state attorney general, Paxton began investigating whether data centers were complying with water reporting requirements.
Nevertheless, Trump used the rally in Texas to promote the expansion of such companies.
“This is a big deal. It’s bigger than the industrial revolution,” he said, dismissing such concerns as part of a “fraud.” He then went on to explain that he urged AI companies to “take care of people.”
“They bring wealth to the community,” he added.
