Trump urges GOP to run on his record, pledges to campaign for them

Voter concerns over economy and Iran war pressure vulnerable Republicans

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Republican lawmakers facing tough reelection campaigns to run on his White House record despite his sagging popularity, and he pledged to campaign in the roughly three dozen contests that are likely to determine control of Congress.

Voters’ dim views of the economy and the war in Iran have put Republicans in a tough spot as the midterm election season enters its final stretch. But during a dinner in the Rose Garden, the president told his party’s most vulnerable lawmakers that they had a triumphant story to tell voters.

“All you have to do is talk about it, and you’re going to win and you’re going to win big,” Trump said a week before Republicans gather in Dallas for an unusual midterm convention.

The Wednesday evening dinner at the White House brought together Republican incumbents and candidates preparing for the midterm stretch. Trump told the gathering that communicating his record would carry them to victory, according to the Associated Press.

The president’s appeal to his party’s most vulnerable members comes against a backdrop of voter dissatisfaction that has put Republicans in a difficult position heading into November’s elections. Voters’ dim views of the economy and the war in Iran have weighed on the party in the final weeks of the campaign.

Trump pledged at the dinner to campaign in roughly three dozen of the contests expected to be most consequential in determining which party controls Congress. The president has framed his personal involvement as a closing argument for a record he describes as transformative.

The Wednesday dinner also came as Republicans prepare to gather in Dallas next week for an unusual midterm convention scheduled for Sept. 9-10. The two-day event will be the Republican National Committee’s first national convention outside the four-year presidential cycle.

The Rose Garden is among the spaces Trump has renovated since returning to office in January 2025. The renovations have been controversial.

As MSI previously reported, the Dallas convention scheduled for Sept. 9-10 will feature Vice President JD Vance delivering the keynote on Wednesday and Trump headlining Thursday. (2026-08-25 article)