Midterms 2026 · Report · File No. 261028-046
Trump makes himself the ballot question in the final week of the midterms
President Donald Trump is telling supporters to 'pretend I'm on the ballot' as he campaigns across the country in the final week before the Nov. 3 election. Democrats say every Trump rally helps them, while the White House calls him the party's best messenger.
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President Donald Trump is closing the midterm campaign by asking voters to imagine him on the ballot, according to ABC News. “Just close your eyes,” he tells supporters, “and pretend I'm on the ballot” 1.
The election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Republicans hold the House, the Senate and the White House, and Trump is spending the final days on a cross-country blitz of rallies 1.
ABC News reports that Trump's personal approach might be the election cycle's biggest gamble. Republicans still support the president, the network reported, but his approval ratings are low enough to potentially sink his party's bid to keep control of Congress 1.
Democrats see a win in every Trump rally
“I don’t think there’s anybody that wants Donald Trump out there at these rallies more than Democratic candidates," said Jessica Mackler, president of EMILY’s List, which focuses on electing Democratic women who support abortion rights 1.
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Every time there is another Trump event, she said, “we look at that as a win” 1.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said Trump is “the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party” 1.
“The choice has never been more clear,” Ingle said in a statement. “Doubling down on President Trump’s winning, commonsense agenda, or the Democrats’ extreme liberal policies and obstruction” 1.
Money and a $5,000 promise
Political groups associated with the president have spent at least around $277 million since Sept. 1 to help Republicans, ABC News reported. That did not completely drain the $416 million that Trump's flagship Super PAC, MAGA Inc., had in the bank to start last month 1.
Trump has also pledged big checks if Republicans hold Congress, saying “I’ll give you $5,000,” though ABC News reported the improbable idea would likely need lawmaker approval 1.
He used taxpayer funding to run television ads celebrating himself, including one nearly identical to a spot from 2024, the last time he really was on the ballot, according to the network 1.
Prices are the backdrop
ABC News reported that the year has been marked by the war with Iran, fears about artificial intelligence, redistricting fights, high energy prices and increasing concerns about the cost of living 1.
Just 17% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's handling of the cost of living, as the Iran war keeps fuel prices high and stokes inflation fears, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in late September 1.
The White House points to efforts to lower prescription drug prices, stimulate domestic manufacturing, crack down on the U.S.-Mexico border and oppose transgender rights 1.
Longtime Michigan pollster Richard Czuba said the president's decision to focus on himself has prevented Republicans from courting conservative voters disappointed in Trump 1.
“He’s literally driving people who disagree with him to the Democratic side,” Czuba said 1.
“The dividing line is how voters feel about Donald Trump,” he added. “And there’s a whole lot more voters who disapprove of Donald Trump than approve of Donald Trump” 1.
The pattern from 2018
ABC News reported that the Trump-centric approach backfired during his first term in 2018, when a similar presidential rally barrage did not stop Democrats from retaking House control 1.
That matters because Trump is again asking voters to judge him rather than their local candidates, in the final week before an election in which his party controls every branch of government 1.
On The Daily Show, Jon Stewart said Republicans are avoiding the president's record. “Republicans running for Congress can’t defend Trump’s reckless record or their refusal to do anything to check his worst impulses,” Stewart said 2.
The Record
Sources
- ABC News, “Trump's cure for Republicans' midterm woes is more Trump. Will it work?” (2026-10-28). abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/trumps-cure-republicans-midte
- The Guardian, “Jon Stewart on the midterms: ‘Republicans running for Congress can’t defend Trump’s reckless record’” (2026-10-27). theguardian.com/culture/2026/oct/27/jon-stewart-midterms-rep
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