Trump Launches Midterm Push with Iowa Visit, Focusing on Economy Amid Mixed Signals

President Donald Trump kicked off what the White House describes as a weekly campaign of battleground state visits Tuesday, landing first in Iowa to highlight his economic policies as Republicans fight to retain their House and Senate majorities in the upcoming midterm elections.

The president’s visit to suburban Des Moines included meetings with local business owners and lawmakers, culminating in an address focused on economic achievements and affordability—issues that his administration hopes will resonate with voters concerned about rising costs.

“The economy is good. It’s all good. Prices are coming way down, and we have a lot of very positive news,” Trump told reporters as he departed for Iowa, a state he won handily in the 2024 election.

A White House official emphasized this optimistic view, stating that “inflation has cooled, economic growth is accelerating, and real wages are up for American workers.” The official added that “Iowans are better off with President Trump and Republican leadership,” highlighting that gas prices in Iowa “ranked the second lowest in the nation.”

The Iowa visit represents a strategic shift for the president, who faces challenges on multiple fronts. His administration is currently grappling with controversy following two fatal shootings by federal agents in Minnesota during immigration enforcement operations. The economic-focused tour provides an opportunity to pivot away from these immigration issues.

Iowa, once a Midwestern battleground that has trended Republican in recent years, remains crucial territory as the GOP defends open Senate and gubernatorial seats, along with three competitive House districts currently under Republican control.

However, the president’s economic messaging faces significant headwinds. Trump’s approval rating on economic matters has consistently remained underwater since last March, dragging down his overall approval numbers throughout his first year back in office. Recent polling data illustrates these challenges, with a Wall Street Journal survey showing Trump’s economic approval at 44% positive versus 54% negative, while a Reuters/Ipsos poll recorded even lower numbers at 35% approval against 56% disapproval.

Democrats have seized on these vulnerabilities. “Donald Trump has tanked the economy for working families, making the cost-of-living an inescapable hell for millions of Americans,” Democratic National Committee Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer said in a statement.

The Democratic National Committee further claims that “Trump’s policies are raising costs for Iowans, devastating Iowa’s agricultural economy, and destroying thousands of jobs that working Iowans rely on.”

Despite these criticisms, Republicans maintain an advantage on economic issues in congressional preference polling. The same Wall Street Journal survey indicated voters favored congressional Republicans over Democrats by 11 points on economic management.

For Republicans facing midterm races, Trump’s involvement represents both opportunity and challenge. The party must contend with historically lower turnout from MAGA-aligned voters when the former president isn’t on the ballot. Trump has pledged extensive campaign trail appearances to boost Republican candidates, with the White House now committing to weekly battleground state visits—a marked departure from his first term, when major campaign travel didn’t begin until Labor Day.

“The President of the United States is our secret weapon,” Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters told Fox News Digital earlier this month. “We got to make sure we turn our voters out, and we got to make sure that we have people energized. And there’s nobody that can energize our base more than President Trump.”

Democrats, however, welcome Trump’s heightened visibility. DNC chair Ken Martin argued that “Trump has historically low approval ratings because he has put America last, sold out working families to hand out favors to billionaires, and made life unaffordable. Hitting the road will only remind Americans of his failures.”

The president’s economy-focused tour follows previous stops in battleground states Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Michigan, where he similarly highlighted his administration’s economic policies and the tax cuts contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, his primary legislative achievement thus far in his second term.