Donald Trump has offered a striking assessment of the Republican Party’s prospects in the upcoming midterm elections, while voicing concern that frustrated GOP voters may stay home.
With the midterm elections drawing closer and congressional Republicans heading onto the campaign trail, the President said he is unsure whether conservative voters will turn out in the fall — particularly with Trump’s own name absent from the ballot.
‘If I don’t run, will those people go out and vote, and that’s the one thing I can’t tell,’ Trump told Punchbowl News in an interview released Friday.
He then put the central question facing Republicans in blunt terms: ‘Will they vote?’
‘A lot of them are very angry at Republicans, to be honest with you … they are not angry with me, but they are angry with Republicans.’
Current indicators suggest Republicans face a difficult path to retaining control of both chambers of Congress, at least according to prediction market data.
Kalshi data shows Republicans with less than a 20 percent chance of holding the House. Their outlook in the Senate is considerably stronger, with the party’s odds of remaining in control standing at 54 percent.
Still, Trump has a powerful tool available as Republicans battle Democratic challengers: a substantial political war chest that could be used to boost GOP candidates across the country.
President Donald Trump questioned whether Republican voters will head to the polls this year given that his name is not on the ballot, questioning ‘Will they vote?’
Trump said that voters are angry with Republicans, but ‘they are not angry with me’
Senate Republican Leader John Thune (L) and Trump have at times butted heads because the leader cannot guarantee his conference will vote for the President’s prefered policies
‘I could spend it on pretty much anything I want,’ Trump noted in the interview, adding, ‘I’m going to help Republicans.’
The President’s political action committee, MAGA Inc., has $400 million in cash on hand, according to the latest Federal Election Commission filings in late June.
The fate of Trump’s remaining two years in power hinges largely on whether conservatives maintain control of Congress.
Should he lose just one chamber, either the House or the Senate, any legislation the President wants passed would need at least some Democratic support.
The thing is, Democrats have been outspoken for years about their ardent opposition to the President and his agenda, and it is hard to see them finding common ground to push through bipartisan legislation.
During the interview with the Congress-focused outlet, the President also spoke about his relationships with Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Republican Leader John Thune, or lack thereof.
Johnson, Trump said, is a ‘fantastic person.’ The two have worked closely together on the President’s legislation in the House, and the Speaker has largely been able to deliver votes on must-pass bills for the President.
The same cannot be said of the Senate.
Trump has noted repeatedly his close relationship with House Speaker Mike Johnson, who he has called a ‘fantastic person’
Trump said he did not want to get into whether or not he will support Thune should the South Dakota Senator run to lead Senate Republicans next year
When pressed on whether he would back Thune to lead the Senate Republicans again next year, the President did not offer the leader, whom he has clashed with at times, his support.
‘I don’t want to get into that,’ Trump answered.
Though Trump did note that there was no ‘disconnect’ between him and Thune, adding, ‘I think we have a good relationship.’
Trump has repeatedly requested that the Senate pass voter ID laws, which were already approved by the House. He sees the legislation as imperative for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections given his claims that elections have been ‘rigged.’
Thune has worked to get his Republican conference on board, but the legislation has stalled out, and the Senate Republican Leader has repeatedly told the President he does not have the votes to get it passed.
