USA20 May, 20263 min read
Donald Trump Warns Of Very Bad Things If Republicans Lose U.S. Midterms
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Midterms determine Senate and House control. Trump's national and key-state approval has fallen.
Midterm threat and protests
President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday of "very bad things" if Republicans lose the midterm elections in the United States, as he began an intense campaign tour under the shadow of protests in Minneapolis and voter concerns about the economy. At a rally in Iowa, Trump told the crowd, "We have to win them," saying Republicans must win the Senate and the House of Representatives in November despite low approval ratings. The speech unfolded as protests continued in Minnesota, where two people were shot dead by federal agents in recent weeks during anti-immigration raids in the city of Minneapolis.
Trump had told Fox News earlier that he would 'de-escalate a little' after agents shot at Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, over the weekend, but in Iowa he largely avoided addressing the issue. The White House said Trump would make weekly trips across the country ahead of the elections, which come with historical punishment for incumbent presidents.
Polls show low approval
A Pew Research poll published on Thursday, January 29, found that 37 percent of Americans approve of Donald Trump's leadership, leaving him as the only president more unpopular than himself during his first term. DW reported that John Mark Hansen, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, said, "The support he has seems rock-solid; there doesn’t seem to be anything that could likely move 80 or 85 percent of Republican voters away," as Trump presides over a hyperpartisan country. The same DW report said Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a presidential and congressional scholar at the Miller Center of the University of Virginia, pointed to economic worries, adding that "Americans worry a lot about the state of the economy and the state of their own pockets."
DW also cited Tenpas on Minneapolis, saying Democrats are especially concerned about what is happening in Minneapolis and other cities where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been deployed. DW concluded that with a little over 10 months before the midterm elections, Trump has time to change his narrative, even as polls and consumer confidence data point to pressure.
GOP loyalty vs midterm stakes
On Capitol Hill, Republicans are coming to grips with midterm reality as POLITICO described an emboldened President Donald Trump determined to flex his power over the GOP "at seemingly any cost."
Speaker Mike Johnson tried to quiet anxieties within his conference Wednesday, arguing that the president "knows what’s at stake" this November and is working to keep the GOP in control in the House and Senate.
Trump attacked Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick after fielding a question from a Fox News reporter engaged to Fitzpatrick, and Trump said, "He likes voting against Trump. You know what happens with that? It doesn’t work out well."
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) called the approach "It’s dumb," saying it seems like Trump has "given up on holding the majority and focusing on loyalty in the minority," while Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said, "I believe that there are people in the White House who couldn’t care less about what happens in November."
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales dismissed concerns about Trump’s focus, saying the president will continue to "draw a contrast" with Democrats ahead of the election by highlighting his "common sense agenda."