President Trump has admitted he’s not sure whether Republicans will prevail in the midterm elections next year and hold onto the House.
“We’ll see what happens. We should win. But, you know, statistically, it’s very tough to win. Yeah, it doesn’t make sense,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal.
“All we’re going to do is, we’re going to try our best to win.”
Historically, the party in control of the White House loses seats in the House during the midterm elections. Given the GOP’s threadbare grip on the House, the Democrats are generally favored to regain control.
There have only been two instances since World War II when the party in control of the White House has actually gained House seats during the midterms.
To try to help defy history, Trump has mounted a pressure campaign to get red-state Republicans to engage in rare mid-decennial redistricting to make congressional district borders more favorable to the GOP.
Thus far, many political analysts believe the redistricting race that has ensued has largely been a wash, though Trump is still pressuring states such as Indiana to redraw their maps.
Also looming over the midterm elections is the US Supreme Court’s forthcoming decision on a challenge to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, something that could upend the use of race-based redistricting in the South.
If the Supreme Court upends Section 2, it could be a significant boon for Republicans.
Trump mused that next year will bring better economic news, at least, potentially boosting the GOP’s chances among voters. He noted that some experts believe the hundreds of billions of dollars worth of investments he’s attracted will kick in around the second quarter of next year.
“I won’t have anybody on the Federal Reserve that, when you have good news, that means you automatically raise interest rates through the roof in order to kill inflation,” Trump added.
During Trump’s first term and the 2024 campaign cycle, the economy was consistently one of his strongest issues.
But a slew of polling suggests that has changed during his second term, with unemployment nudging up slightly higher, slow job growth and angst over tariffs.
On average, the president’s approval rating is -9.3 percentage points, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
But Trump said he is optimistic that economic conditions would become more positive by the time he had to hit the campaign trail to help Republicans in the midterm elections.
“I think by the time we have to talk about the election, which is in another few months, I think our prices are in good shape,” Trump reflected to the outlet.
“I’ve created the greatest economy in history. But it may take people a while to figure all these things out.
“All this money that’s pouring into our country is building things right now — car plants, AI, lots of stuff,” the president said. “I cannot tell you how that’s going to equate to the voter. All I can do is do my job.”
Both the president and his team have made clear he plans to play a heavy role in ginning up votes for Republicans next year.
Pressed about whether he would’ve done anything differently in his second term, the president said, “Overall, no.
“More money is invested in the United States than any country in history. Stock markets hit all-time highs. I closed the border,” he crowed.
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