Trump Pledges Robust Campaign Support for GOP, Acknowledges Historical ‘Midterm Curse’

President Trump Pledges Extensive Campaign Support for GOP in Midterms

President Donald Trump announced Thursday he plans to be heavily involved in Republican campaign efforts ahead of this year’s midterm elections, despite acknowledging the traditional challenges facing the party in power.

“I’m gonna do a lot of campaign traveling,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We’re going to work hard.” The president’s commitment comes as Republicans face a difficult battle to maintain their narrow majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Trump appeared to temper expectations, recognizing the historical pattern that often works against incumbent presidents’ parties in midterm cycles. “For whatever reason, it’s a deep-down psychological reason, sitting presidents… don’t seem to do well in the midterms,” he noted.

The president has already begun his campaign support efforts with recent visits to key battleground states including Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Michigan, where he highlighted his administration’s economic achievements and efforts to combat inflation—an issue of significant concern to voters. Trump is scheduled to travel to Iowa next week, where Republicans are defending open Senate and gubernatorial seats.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who served as co-campaign manager of Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, indicated the president would be making weekly campaign stops throughout the year—a marked departure from his first term, when he didn’t begin intensive campaign travel until after Labor Day in 2018.

That year, Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives, an outcome Trump is clearly seeking to avoid in his second term. To bolster GOP chances, the Republican National Committee has taken the unprecedented step of planning a midterm convention, a first in party history.

At the RNC winter meeting on Thursday, the committee initiated formal rule changes that would allow Chairman Joe Gruters “to convene a special ceremonial convention outside a presidential election cycle.” National political conventions traditionally occur only during presidential election years, but Republican strategists hope a midterm convention would provide a high-profile platform to showcase both Trump’s record and congressional candidates.

The strategy aims to address what party officials acknowledge is a persistent challenge: mobilizing MAGA supporters who don’t reliably turn out when Trump himself isn’t on the ballot. “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,” Gruters told Fox News Digital earlier this month.

Trump expressed confidence in his administration’s accomplishments, claiming “nobody had a better first year than I did” and touting economic growth and investment. “We have the greatest economy in the world. We have the greatest investment in a country, in history, by many times—nobody’s ever had that,” he said.

However, the president’s approval ratings remain underwater, with many Americans expressing dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy and affordability issues. Democrats are already framing the midterm elections as a referendum on Trump’s economic policies.

“One year into his second term, Donald Trump has made one thing unmistakably clear: He doesn’t care about everyday Americans,” DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer said in a statement. “Voters won’t forget Trump’s betrayal come midterms—and Republicans will have to answer for it.”

As both parties prepare for what promises to be a contentious midterm season, Trump’s campaign involvement signals Republicans’ recognition that maintaining their congressional majorities will require mobilizing their base in what has historically been a challenging electoral environment for the president’s party.