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. During a dinner in the Rose Garden, one of the spaces he has renovated since returning to office last year, Trump told his party's most vulnerable lawmakers that they had a 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 a 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. The menu featured an "end of summer BBQ" with cheeseburgers.
Trump discussed economic investment in the United States and lower drug prices, using 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 in those battlegrounds, recalling his travel schedule ahead of his own White House victory two years ago.
"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, focusing 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 commented on his style of dress and presence on the campaign trail.
"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."
Trump suggested that Republicans' midterm struggles were following a pattern that most 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."