Bracing for the midterms, Trump says he will be blamed if Republicans lose

President Donald Trump told a rally crowd in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Saturday that Republicans' failure in the November 3 midterms would be pinned on him, while a win would earn him no credit. He insisted he is working hard and urged attendees to vote. A person familiar with his thinking told NBC News that he is in a grind-it-out mindset and ready for a bad result.

The backdrop is unfavorable. Midterms tend to hurt the party holding the White House, and an NBC News average of polls puts his approval at 38% against 59% disapproval. Trump disputed that he has lost support, calling it a false narrative and showing a CNN clip suggesting his MAGA base has not wavered since 2024. To boost turnout, he is also promising adults a $5,000 check if Republicans keep the House and Senate, a plan estimated to cost $1.3 trillion.

Tennessee was his seventh state visit since early October, though he scrapped a planned Alabama stop because of Hurricane Isaias. Although Republicans are expected to sweep races there, Trump said he wanted to reward loyal places. Representative Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, said such appearances energize the base, which midterms depend on.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NBC News’s reporting. Read the full story at NBC News →