President Donald Trump let slip how worn down he feels in the final stretch of the midterm campaign, a political analyst noted.
Political analyst Aaron Parnas zeroed in on the president's remarks at a Friday night rally in Daytona Beach, Florida, during a Saturday episode of his YouTube show. Parnas told viewers that Trump was "essentially tired of being president" and that the confession came "in his own words."
"I thought this was it. I thought I could relax," Trump told the crowd. "Twenty-eight days of this crap in a row is a lot. It's a lot. My voice is operating at about 49.2 percent."
The president then recounted a request from Republicans in Iowa and Kansas. "They said, 'Sir, would it be possible to do a rally about 50,000 people each?' And I said, 'Does it matter?'" Trump said. "They said, 'We just want to make sure that we win.'"
Parnas argued that Trump's shrug said more than he intended. "So when he says, 'Does it matter?' I think he's telling you what he already knows," the analyst explained, adding that the writing was on the wall.
The Daytona remarks weren't the first sign of strain. Parnas noted that a hoarse Trump also complained earlier this week that God didn't design vocal cords for a rally every day, and that the president spent all or part of 23 days on the road this month alone.
He also pointed to what he called rally whiplash, after Trump canceled weekend rallies in Kansas and Iowa and then reversed course less than a day later. Aides have reportedly grown uneasy about shrinking crowds and smaller venues, Parnas said, and he cited Pew Research Center polling that put Trump's approval rating at 30 percent, which he described as a historic low.
Parnas warned that Republicans know what is coming if they lose control of Congress on Tuesday, while the president's party scrambles to hold the line behind a leader who has openly wondered whether his own effort makes a difference.