Trump promises to campaign for Republicans and says they have a winning
midterm message
[September 03, 2026]
By COLLIN BINKLEY and JONATHAN J. COOPER
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Republican
lawmakers facing tough reelection campaigns to run on his record in the
White House despite his sagging popularity, and he pledged to campaign
in all of 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, one of the spaces
he has controversially renovated since returning to office last year,
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 the party gathers in Dallas
for an unusual midterm convention.
The audience of Republican lawmakers listened quietly to Trump through
his speech, occasionally offering applause as many sipped on cocktails
ahead of their dinner. Menus checkered in yellow gingham called it an
“end of summer BBQ" featuring cheeseburgers.
Trump talked up economic investment in the United States and lower drug
prices, using significantly inflated figures, as well as diminished
border crossings.
Control of Congress will come down to about 35 races, Trump said. He
pledged to spend the 30 days before the election campaigning hard in
those battlegrounds, recalling his aggressive travel schedule ahead of
his own White House victory two years ago.
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President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Republican
lawmakers in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 2,
2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“I’m going to go to every one of those 35 places, and we’re going to
see if we can get everyone elected,” Trump said. His focus, he
added, would be on House and Senate races.
He specifically listed Senate races in Alaska, where Republican Sen.
Dan Sullivan faces Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola, and Texas,
where Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton is running
against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.
Trump backed Paxton in this year's primary despite a scandal-plagued
past, but he poked fun at his style of dress and presence on the
campaign trail on Monday.
“You might not love his look. You might not love his television
interviews," he said. "But he was the best attorney general in the
country, perhaps. He was one of the best in the entire country. And
that speaks a lot louder than the suit he’s wearing that doesn’t
look so great.”
Republicans' midterm struggles, he suggested, were simply following
a pattern that virtually all modern presidents have faced.
“Whether you’re a good president or a great president, you lose the
midterms,” Trump said. “We’re going to turn that around because
there’s no reason for it.”
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