Trump on Tiger Woods, midterms, Harry and Meghan return to UK
Trump said he will go to Alaska to campaign. He’s glad the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are going back to the UK. JD Vance will give a briefing today.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he’s launching an aggressive travel blitz to battleground districts and states in the final month of the midterm election as he looks to energize Republicans and fend off a blue wave.
Among his stops will be Alaska ‒ a historically red state that Trump carried by 13 percentage points in the 2024 election ‒ as the president tries to boost Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is in a close race with Democratic challenger Mary Peltola, a former Alaska congresswoman.
Trump detailed his plans at a Rose Garden dinner on Sept. 2 featuring about three dozen House Republicans, telling them, “I’ll be with you 100 percent. We’re going to do something like I did for myself in the last presidential election. Four months out, I said, ‘OK, no days off.'”
With the November midterms just two months away, Trump said control of the House and Senate will come down to about 35 competitive races, adding he plans to go to “every one of those 35 places” over the final days of the campaign. “Some of you guys are leading by so much,” he told Republicans at the dinner. “Please don’t make me go to your area.”
Trump said he also plans to host tele-rallies for Republicans in close races. “We could do seven or eight of them, 10 of them maybe, a night,” he said. Trump’s allies have also amassed more than $400 million in a super PAC called MAGA Inc. that’s ready to be pumped into midterm races over the final stretch.
Trump’s approval rating has dipped to a second-term low of 33%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll this week. But Trump is betting his presence on the campaign trail can bring out his loyal followers who vote for him in presidential elections but sit out of midterm races. Trump is the headline speaker and main attraction at a Republican National Committee midterm convention set for Dallas next week.
“In some cases, you can be losing by a lot and we’ll bring you over the line,” Trump said. “But mostly, it’s if you’re close, I think we’ll get all those people elected, but I’m going to have to work.”
Are Republicans worried about reliably red Alaska?
Trump singled out Alaska as one of the places where he campaigns ‒ a sign that Republicans are worried about losing a seat that was considered safe for Republicans just a few months ago. Trump carried Alaska in the 2024 election against Democrat Kamala Harris, 54.5%-41.4%.
“I’m going to go up to Alaska for Dan Sullivan,” Trump said, accusing Democrats of recruiting a second Republican candidate also named Dan Sullivan who was certified on the ballot. Peltola and the other Dan Sullivan have both denied coordination with each other. “Think of it ‒ they have a man named Dan Sullivan running against him.”
“Let’s say he takes two or three points away, that’s the difference between winning and losing,” Trump said.
Trump said he also plans to stump for Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, who is facing Democrat James Talarico, a Texas state representative. Texas last voted in a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 1988.
“You might not like the way he looks, you might not love his look, you might not love his television interviews, but he was the best attorney general in the country perhaps,” Trump said of Paxton.
A series of off-year and special election victories for Democrats over the past year ‒ combined with Democrats consistently outperforming their 2024 margins ‒ has provided reason for concern for Republicans in the 2026 midterms.
Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take over the Senate, which Republicans hold by a 53-47 seat advantage, and a gain of three seats in the House, which Republicans control 218-215. Democrats have strong odds to take control of the House and they’re increasingly optimistic about their path to reclaim the Senate. An upset victory in Alaska for Democrats would be a massive step toward achieving that goal.
Candidates at Trump’s Wednesday dinner included Reps. Andy Biggs, who is running for governor of Arizona; Tom Tiffany, who is running for Wisconsin governor and Mike Collins, who is running for Senate in Georgia.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.