The Trump-Centric Campaign Hasn’t Worked for the GOP – “You have to pretend I’m on the ballot.”
President Donald Trump’s message has been clear throughout the campaign: Republican voters should turn out as if he were running himself.
Donald Trump. Image Credit: The White House.
President Donald J. Trump attends Superbowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, February 9, 2025, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
Trump has traveled across the country, prioritizing seats once considered Republican strongholds, as the party faces a disappointing night on Tuesday, November 3.
Yet, with the president urging supporters to mobilize, the strategy carries a familiar risk.
Trump 2026?
The approach was clear at September’s Republican midterm convention in Dallas, TX, where Trump spoke on both nights and asked supporters to treat the election as a vote for him.
“The midterms are not supposed to be won by the sitting president,” Trump told supporters, predicting a “very special” set of elections while introducing his core message for Republicans to “pretend” he is running himself. He also introduced a $5,000 grant for every American adult if the GOP retains control of the House and the Senate, although how and whether it can be delivered remains unclear.
Trump, nevertheless, has sought to make himself at the forefront of an election he is not running in. The reason, according to White House spokesman Davis Ingle, is that the president is “the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party.”
He added: “The choice has never been more clear: doubling down on President Trump’s winning, commonsense agenda, or the Democrats’ extreme liberal policies and obstruction.”
Democratic Advantage
Trump’s “first and foremost” strategy may mobilize supporters, but it’s also mobilizing Democrats, according to Jessica Mackler, president of EMILY’s List, which supports female Democratic Party candidates who support abortion rights.
“I don’t think there’s anybody that wants Donald Trump out there at these rallies more than Democratic candidates,” she told the Associated Press. “We look at that as a win,” she added regarding whenever the president appears at an event.
Mackler’s belief is backed by the opinion polls. Trump’s approval rating was at its lowest during either of his two terms in three separate surveys last week, and in the days since it has only inched upward.
If Trump wants voters to pretend he is on the ballot, those who are frustrated with his presidency are casting their votes as if he is. With less than a week to go until the midterm elections, the Democrats, according to the latest Cook polling, are set to flip between 12 and 22 seats on November 3. They need just four to take control of the House.
Driving Voters Away
Part of the problem for President Trump is his own unpopularity. In a recent Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll asking whether voters would prefer an opposing Democratic-led Congress or a Trump-supporting Republican one, registered voters strongly favored the former, 58% to 39%. That margin is almost double what it was one year ago.
In the same survey, nearly half of respondents said they felt financially worse off than before Trump returned to the White House. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that affordability will be the deciding factor for about half of the country’s voters, making disapproval of Trump’s handling of the cost of living a major issue for a Republican Party battling to hold on to its slim congressional majority.
Rhetorics and Reactions
The Trump-centric approach has done little to win over anti-MAGA conservatives.
“He’s literally driving people who disagree with him to the Democratic side, said Michigan pollster Ruchard Czuba to the AP. “The dividing line is how voters feel about Donald Trump. And there are a whole lot more voters who disapprove of Donald Trump than approve of Donald Trump.”
For sure, Trump’s campaign style may have won him two elections while outside of the White House. However, he’s now the nation’s commander-in-chief, and jokes about how the $5,000 grant will cover a small meal at his Mar-a-Lago home do little to win over voters as more Americans struggle financially.
It reveals a disconnect between the president and Americans, according to Mackler of EMILY’s List, who has visited states where Trump has recently campaigned.
“That’s what’s driving opportunity on the ballot, she said, “including in states and races and places that we would not have imagined would be in play.”
About the Author: Shay Bottomley
Shay Bottomley is a British journalist. He has written for the Western Standard, Business Insider, Maidenhead Advertiser, Slough Express, Windsor Express, Berkshire Live and Southend Echo.
