PRESIDENT SAYS HE’S FOCUSED ON SENATE WITH 2 DAYS UNTIL MIDTERMS
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — President Donald Trump appeared to distance himself from the fate of House Republican candidates Sunday as he devotes his final two days before Tuesday’s midterm elections to helping Senate and gubernatorial candidates.
Speaking to reporters as he left the White House en route to get-out-the-vote rallies in Georgia and Tennessee on Sunday, Trump said Republican enthusiasm is higher than he’s ever seen — but he seemed to dampen expectations for his party in the House.
“I think we’re going to do well in the House,” he said of Tuesday’s races. “But, as you know, my primary focus has been on the Senate, and I think we’re doing really well in the Senate.”
The comments mark the starkest indication that Trump has grown less optimistic about the GOP’s chances of retaining control of the House, where Republicans face greater headwinds than in the Senate. And they came as Trump’s travels in the closing stretch before midterms that could profoundly change his presidency are largely taking him to traditionally Republican states to campaign on behalf of statewide candidates.
The president’s closing argument to voters was on stark display Sunday as he seeks to motivate complacent Republican voters to the polls by stoking fears about the prospects of Democratic control.
“You want to see Georgia prosperity end?” Trump told the rally crowd in Macon, Georgia. “Vote for the Democrat.” Trump’s remarks included ominous references to the “Antifa” far-left-leaning militant groups and a migrant caravan marching toward the U.S.-Mexico border that he has called an “invasion.”
Appearing before thousands in an overflowing aircraft hangar in Macon for Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp, Trump declared, “There’s electricity in the air like I haven’t seen since ’16.”
“This is a very important election,” he added. “I wouldn’t say it’s as important as ’16, but it’s right up there.”
In Chattanooga, Tennessee, to bolster the prospects of Republican Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn, Trump once again warned that caravans of immigrants are on their way to flood across the southern border.
“That’s an invasion. I don’t care what they say,” Trump said to cheers. He received similar applause when promoting the economy, unemployment numbers and judicial appointments.
When Blackburn took the stage briefly, she told supporters, “If you want to vote no to Hillary Clinton and her cronies one more time, stand with me.” The crowd responded with the chant, “Lock her up!”