Republicans are privately worried that President Donald Trump’s final pitch to voters isn’t about the issues they care about most, according to The Atlantic’s Jonathan Lemire.
Lemire writes that Trump’s main case for electing Republicans has centered on dismissing the affordability crisis, attacking comedian Bill Maher and admiring Sen. Jon Husted’s physique. At a Michigan rally Sunday, he says, Trump called Democrat Abdul El-Sayed a jihadist five times and devoted about three and a half minutes to Husted’s football career. At a Mississippi rally Monday, he spent roughly seven minutes on White House redecorating.
Many Republicans, including some in Trump’s orbit, tell Lemire the president has lost his feel for his supporters. His approval has fallen to the low 30s, and candidates in tight races, among them Susan Collins in Maine and John Sununu in New Hampshire, have reportedly asked that he stay away.
“We may have lost the plot here,” one Republican seeking reelection told Lemire, speaking anonymously.
Lemire reports that strategists in both parties expect Democrats to win the House and view the Senate as a toss-up, with Republicans fighting for seats in states such as Kansas, Alaska, South Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Mississippi, and Texas. He says many Republicans see voters feeling that Trump hasn’t delivered on promises to end foreign wars, cut prices and focus deportations on dangerous criminals.
He also notes Trump’s defense of Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad with Amy Acton’s estranged mother, which Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine denounced.
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said Trump is remaining focused and is crisscrossing the country with “unmatched energy and enthusiasm” to promise safer streets, lower taxes, a secure border and energy dominance.