Advisers see rallies as a bid to stem Republican losses
President Trump ended a seven-rally tour Sunday in Michigan after appearances in Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, Florida and Georgia, according to The Wall Street Journal, whose reporters attended every event. Trump spoke for more than 11 hours from Monday through Sunday, and by Saturday his voice was noticeably hoarse. The visits were part of the president’s midterm push to energize supporters and respond to polling that predicted deep Republican losses.
Advisers view Trump as the single best motivator for voters, and his political machine is rerunning much of the playbook that returned him to the Oval Office in 2024. The strategy targets the MAGA base, especially low-propensity voters in red states, to stem GOP losses. A senior White House official said Trump’s polarizing nature had not prevented the approach from paying dividends, pointing to Kansas, where Sen. Roger Marshall had seen an uptick in enthusiasm in internal metrics.
Advisers also described the rally schedule as a “security blanket” for Trump, freeing him from job pressures and critical news coverage. Most analysts expect the GOP to lose control of the House and possibly the Senate, The Wall Street Journal reported. Trump was entering the midterms with the lowest approval rating of any president heading into a midterm election in The Wall Street Journal’s polling dating to the 1990s.
Some Republicans fear the rallies will motivate Democrats and give Trump’s opponents material to portray him as out of touch. The Wall Street Journal said the tour included arenas, gyms and airport hangars and speculated that this could be the final rally phase as Trump’s decade-long political dominance began to fade. Far-reaching Republican losses in the midterms could signal that his political power is diminishing, and Trump has made statements at rallies that could make life harder for vulnerable Republicans.
The crowds were generally smaller than they were when Trump was on the ballot, but the rallies drew enthusiastic supporters. Joe Douglas, a 70-year-old retired pipeline worker, drove 90 minutes to see Trump in Wichita, Kan., wearing a red MAGA hat he bought in 2016. On Monday, Douglas said, “I’ve heard everything he is going to say,” before explaining why he made the trip: “Because this is live.” He said he had never seen the president in person and had voted for him in the past three elections.
Onstage, Trump was met with cheering crowds and fleeting signs of opposition. The Journal said he was reveling in the attention, touting his agenda, stirring the pot and veering off script. In Sioux City, Iowa, congressional candidate Joe Mitchell lamented that Trump had not received the Nobel Peace Prize and presented him with a framed “man of the century” certificate. Trump also paused at rallies to play a video clip of a CNN analyst explaining that, among Republican voters, he was far more popular than Ronald Reagan or Abraham Lincoln.
Trump’s critics have characterized the rallies as self-aggrandizing, filled with falsehoods and increasingly uncivil toward his opponents. Throughout the week, he responded to critics who allege he is slipping by returning to the mental-acuity test he says he aced, telling a crowd in South Carolina, “I know everything that I’m doing.” He also said “nobody appreciates me” no fewer than 10 times in Wichita despite what he considers his many accomplishments. The refrain culminated in a story about expressing that sentiment to a group of businessmen at the White House: “And then I look up and I say, ‘Oh, wait…is this the Oval Office that we’re in?…That means I’m president.”
The Journal noted that few things annoyed Trump more than a small crowd. Friday in Fort Myers, Fla., he marveled at a packed arena on a college campus and claimed the crowd outside was “10 miles long.” There were a large number of people outside, but the line did not stretch for 10 miles. Trump also pointed out the cameras at the back of each venue, saying in North Carolina, “Oh, wow, that’s a lot of fake news,” which drew laughter and boos.
Saturday night in Georgia, Trump said U.S. oil revenues were surging because of the conflict in the Middle East. He said his advisers had told him not to mention it because people were paying more for gasoline. “But I said, ‘I don’t give a damn, I’m gonna say it: We’re making a freaking fortune.’ Our country is getting stronger and stronger all the time, and those pump prices are gonna come down,” Trump said.
Some longtime political allies wonder whether the grueling pace is affecting the 80-year-old president. Businessman and longtime friend Mike Lindell said during a recent videoconference with Trump’s allies that Trump “looked the tiredest I’ve ever seen him.” Lindell added, “You’ve got to realize, these rallies are just one after another after another.” A White House official said nonstop travel had pushed the administration to its limits but insisted Trump remained energized. After rallies, Trump asked aides which part of his remarks they liked best, according to people involved in the conversations. Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who has traveled frequently with Trump, dismissed the suggestion that he was slowing down: “Maybe he is a little cyborg,” Scott said in an interview.
The Wall Street Journal characterized Trump’s rally speeches as a steady drip of sometimes bizarre, occasionally candid and often comedic comments. In North Carolina on Tuesday, he talked admiringly and at length about the glutes of Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted, calling his physique “a pile of muscle.” Husted was one of several men Trump complimented during his travels. In Florida, Trump said of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., “He’s got the body of a 30-year-old.” He then called out Rep. Greg Steube, saying, “Stand up. Look at the build on this guy.” Sunday in Michigan, he marveled at the backside of rapper Nicki Minaj, who attended the rally.
MAGA rallies have always attracted detractors, but protesters are increasingly entering the events, laying low and waiting to interrupt Trump at key moments. A senior White House official said Trump feeds off the crowd’s response, which often drowns out protesters with loud boos and chants of “USA!” In Clemson, S.C., the protests met with violence: a rallygoer struck a protester halfway through Trump’s remarks. Trump said, “That was incredible! Wow, that was unbelievable.” In Sioux City, one protester who declined to give her full name said she had driven several hours and donned patriotic gear, including American-flag pants, to blend in, though she acknowledged her light-purple hair might have given her away. Five minutes into the rally, she started yelling, “Quiet piggy! Quiet piggy!” and was quickly escorted out.
The Journal reported that an entire subculture has emerged around Trump’s rallies over the past decade. First-timer Braxton Best said he came to Sioux City partly for Trump’s improvisational moments. “He’s fearless. He doesn’t care about what people think about him,” the 17-year-old student from Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, said. Best and his friend wore visors that read “Trump,” with orange, fluffy hair sticking out of the top. Trump has often playfully called out a group of North Carolina women who have attended his rallies for years, joking, “They’re stalking me,” to laughter. Mr. Wall showed up at several rallies this week and was so named for a suit resembling bricks that signaled support for the border wall. Blake Marnell, a retiree from San Diego, said he was sourcing fabric to make a similar suit at Trump’s invitation. At a North Carolina rally, Marnell estimated he had already put more than 8,000 miles on his vehicle while traveling in support of Trump ahead of the midterms and expected to add another 6,000 miles in the final days before the election.
Vendors outside Trump’s rallies sell everything from classic red MAGA hats to golden Trump sneakers. Jonas Williams, a 53-year-old entrepreneur and ex-convict from North Carolina, said his merchandise business brings in a six-figure income and credited the business with turning his life around. He drives a 2010 Dodge Ram with a trailer to rallies early in the morning to secure the best spot. Williams had sold Obama memorabilia in past years but said Trump superfans generate sales unlike anything else. “Trump is going to push and pop until the day that he dies, and then the day that he does die, this merchandise is going to quadruple,” Williams said. “He is what’s called a legend.”
Advisers see Trump as the single best motivator for voters, but some Republicans fear the rallies will motivate Democrats. The seven events put that disagreement in practical terms as the party heads into November, with far-reaching Republican losses viewed as a possible signal that his political power is fading.