Five weeks before midterm elections that could reshape the final chapter of his presidency, Donald Trump has launched a 32-day campaign tour through Republican territory, staking his party's congressional majority on the belief that his personal appeal can outweigh historic disapproval numbers. The gamble unfolds against a backdrop of an unpopular war with Iran, fuel prices that have broken records, and an economy that half of Americans say they struggle to afford. It is an old and recurring human drama: a leader doubling down on conviction when the evidence counsels humility, asking voters to
Trump launches midterm blitz despite record low approval ratings
I give us an A+ on the government, on economics, on everything.
Mark
So Trump is out campaigning for other Republicans even though he's not on the ballot himself. Why does that matter so much to him?
Mimi
Because if Republicans lose control of the House or Senate, his legislative agenda stalls for his final two years. And he's explicitly worried about impeachment—he mentioned it twice on Thursday.
Luke
Right, but we should be careful here. The source says he "expressed concern" about impeachment. That's one statement. We don't know if that's a genuine fear or a rhetorical device to motivate voters.
Mark
Fair point. But the numbers are pretty stark—71 percent disapprove of the Iran war, diesel is over six dollars a gallon. How does he overcome that?
Mimi
He's reframing it. He tells voters he deserves an A+ for his performance and blames the media for unfair coverage. He's also arguing the war will end soon and prices will drop rapidly.
Luke
But there's no ceasefire. Both sides claim victory, but the Strait of Hormuz is still blocked. So when he says prices will come down "rapidly, rapidly," that's a prediction, not a fact. We can't verify it.
Mark
What about the tariff argument? He's saying tariffs created manufacturing jobs.
Mimi
He's crediting his tariff campaign with job creation, yes. But the tariffs are controversial—they've been challenged in court, and critics say they exceed his constitutional powers.
Luke
The source doesn't give us numbers on actual job creation from tariffs. It's his claim, not independently verified data.
Mark
And the data center thing—he's defending their expansion while his own party is investigating them?
Mimi
Exactly. Abbott and Paxton have both launched investigations into water and electricity usage. Fifty-three percent of Americans are concerned about AI's environmental impact. But Trump called those concerns a "scam."
Luke
And he said he urged AI companies to "take care of the people." That's vague. We don't know what that means or whether it happened.
Mark
So he's running a campaign that's partly about defending unpopular decisions and partly about cultural issues—immigration, transgender rights.
Mimi
Yes. And he's also trying to help specific candidates like Paxton, even though leaked audio suggests Paxton thinks Trump's presence actually hurt Republican numbers in Texas.
Luke
That's important. Paxton said the convention "dropped our numbers. Everybody's numbers dropped." So Trump's own campaign stops might be damaging the very candidates he's trying to help.
Mark
That's a real tension in the story.
Mimi
It is. And we won't know until November 3 whether his rallies energize Republicans or alienate swing voters who are worried about the economy and the war.
Der Puls
- With 71% of Americans opposing the Iran war and diesel surpassing $6 a gallon, Trump enters the campaign trail carrying some of the heaviest political weight of his presidency.
- Control of the House and Senate hangs in genuine uncertainty — even reliably Republican Texas is showing cracks, with Attorney General Ken Paxton struggling against a Democratic challenger.
- Trump is betting that rallies built around tariffs, immigration, and cultural grievance can redirect voter anger away from the war and the economy and toward Democratic opponents.
- Leaked audio of Paxton himself admitting that Trump's September convention 'dropped our numbers' signals that the president's presence may be as much liability as asset.
- Trump has promised energy prices will 'plummet rapidly' and that Iran will be 'very quickly ended' — claims that sit uneasily against the lived reality voters bring to the ballot box on November 3.
Five weeks before midterm elections that could reshape the final chapter of his presidency, Donald Trump has launched a 32-day campaign tour through Republican territory, staking his party's congressional majority on the belief that his personal appeal can outweigh historic disapproval numbers. The gamble unfolds against a backdrop of an unpopular war with Iran, fuel prices that have broken records, and an economy that half of Americans say they struggle to afford. It is an old and recurring human drama: a leader doubling down on conviction when the evidence counsels humility, asking voters to trust the story he tells about himself over the one they experience each day.
Donald Trump touched down in Texas on Thursday to begin a 32-day campaign sprint, betting that his personal magnetism could protect Republican control of Congress five weeks before midterm elections. All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are contested. Losing either chamber would mean blocked legislation, possible impeachment, and a presidency in gridlock — stakes Trump understands well.
At a Peterbilt Motors factory in Denton, he told workers he deserved an A+ for his administration's performance and blamed unfair media coverage for his image problems. By evening he was in Durant, Oklahoma, delivering the same message. The numbers, however, told a different story: a new AP-NORC poll found 71 percent of Americans disapprove of his war with Iran, which began in February and has yet to produce a ceasefire. The conflict has strangled oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing diesel past six dollars a gallon and leaving roughly half of survey respondents worried about affording food and fuel. Only 26 percent approved of his economic stewardship.
Trump has nonetheless made himself the centerpiece of Republican strategy, asking voters at a September convention to 'pretend that I'm on the ballot.' On the trail, he cast his tariff campaign as a lifeline for American manufacturing and reframed the Iran war as a victory in progress, promising energy prices would fall rapidly and that a resolution would come 'right after the election — but maybe before.' He also leaned into immigration and transgender rights, framing them as pillars of a Democratic 'radical' agenda designed to energize his base.
Even in traditionally safe Republican territory, the ground is shifting. In Texas — where no Democrat has won statewide since the 1990s — Trump spent both stops defending Attorney General Ken Paxton against Democratic challenger James Talarico, calling Paxton 'the greatest attorney general in the United States' and mocking Talarico as a vegan out of step with Texas values. Leaked audio later surfaced of Paxton himself saying Trump's September convention had hurt Republican numbers across the board.
Trump also dismissed bipartisan concern over data centers' environmental footprint as a 'scam,' even as Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Paxton have launched their own investigations into the issue. With November 3 approaching, the central question remains unanswered: whether Trump's presence on the trail will lift his party's candidates or deepen the very anxieties driving voters away.
Donald Trump stepped off a plane in Texas on Thursday to begin a 32-day sprint through Republican strongholds, betting that his personal star power could salvage his party's grip on Congress even as his approval ratings hit historic lows. The midterm elections are five weeks away. All 435 House seats are contested. Thirty-five Senate seats are up for grabs. Control of either chamber could slip from Republican hands, and Trump knows what that means for his final two years in office: blocked legislation, possible impeachment, a presidency in gridlock.
He arrived in Denton, Texas, at the Peterbilt Motors Company factory and told the crowd he deserved an A+ for his administration's performance on government, economics, and everything else. The media, he said, was sabotaging him with unfair coverage. "We're doing an extremely poor job of promotion and an extremely great job of running the country," he told the workers. By evening, he was in Durant, Oklahoma, repeating the message to another crowd of supporters.
The numbers tell a different story. A poll released Thursday by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 71 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump's war with Iran, which began on February 28 and has yet to produce a ceasefire despite both sides claiming victory. The conflict has choked off commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's critical artery for oil trade. Diesel prices—the fuel that powers the trucks built at the Peterbilt plant—have soared past six dollars a gallon. Gasoline has followed. About half of survey respondents said they were worried about affording food and fuel. Only 26 percent approved of Trump's handling of the economy.
Yet Trump has made himself the centerpiece of the Republican midterm strategy. At a Republican convention in September, he asked voters to imagine him on the ballot. "I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot," he said. On Thursday, he touted his tariff campaign as a job creator for manufacturing, telling Peterbilt workers that foreign competitors had looted their wages and shuttered their factories for decades. "They'd still be doing it if I wasn't here, believe me." The tariffs have drawn legal challenges from critics who argue they exceed his constitutional authority, but Trump has pressed ahead.
He also tried to reframe the Iran war as a success in progress. "Just as I promised, I'm ensuring that Iran will be very quickly ended," he said. Energy prices would plummet rapidly, he promised. "We'll win very easily right now. I believe right after the election we'll win, but maybe before the election." The claim sits uneasily against the reality of diesel at six dollars a gallon and no visible path to a settlement.
Trump's campaign tour is targeting reliably Republican districts—Alabama, Ohio, Nebraska are on the schedule—but even traditional Republican strongholds are showing cracks. In Texas, where no Democrat has won a statewide race since the 1990s, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is struggling in a Senate race against Democrat James Talarico. Trump spent both Thursday stops boosting Paxton, calling him "the greatest attorney general in the United States of America" and attacking Talarico as out of touch with Texas culture. He repeated an unsubstantiated claim that Talarico is vegan. "And vegans don't do well in Texas," Trump said. Leaked audio, however, captured Paxton lamenting that Trump's September convention in Texas had damaged Republican numbers. "It dropped our numbers. Everybody's numbers dropped," Paxton reportedly said.
Trump has also leaned heavily on social issues to energize Republican voters. He returned to immigration and transgender rights, framing them as part of a Democratic "radical" agenda. "They want women in men's sports. They want open borders. They want transgender mutilation for your children," he said. He also defended the expansion of data centers despite bipartisan concern about their environmental footprint. A poll last month found 53 percent of Americans extremely or very concerned about artificial intelligence's environmental impact. Even Republican Governor Greg Abbott and Paxton himself have launched investigations into data center water and electricity usage. Trump dismissed the concerns as a "scam" and said he had urged AI companies to "take care of the people." "They're making a fortune for the communities," he added.
With five weeks until voters go to the polls, Trump is betting that his rallies, his tariff message, and his cultural arguments can overcome the weight of an unpopular war and an economy that millions of Americans say they cannot afford. Whether his presence helps or hurts Republican candidates remains an open question—and one that will be answered on November 3.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
We're doing an extremely poor job of promotion and an extremely great job of running the country.— Trump, at the Peterbilt Motors Company rally in Denton, Texas
It dropped our numbers. Everybody's numbers dropped.— Ken Paxton, in leaked audio, on the impact of Trump's Republican convention in Texas
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