Trump's new pitch for Republican candidates? They're really good looking

President Donald Trump has taken to praising the looks of Republican candidates as he campaigns for the midterms, which will decide whether his party holds Congress or he faces a more emboldened Democratic opposition. At a Saturday rally in Kentucky, PBS NewsHour reports, he singled out U.S. House candidate Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, as a man straight out of "central casting." He then described Ohio Sen. Jon Husted as a perfect specimen and joked, to laughter, about having inspected him from head to toe.

Not every Republican gets the same treatment. At the Texas party's convention, Trump told Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who stood nearby grinning, that he did not much care for his appearance, and he also knocked Paxton's suit. He added that Paxton's record as attorney general counts for far more.

Democrats draw his appearance critiques too. Trump likened Texas Democratic candidate James Talarico to the MAD magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman, and compared Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff to the comedy character Pee-wee Herman while campaigning on Friday for Rep. Mike Collins. He also called Georgia gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson very handsome.

Summarized by PolitiKool from PBS NewsHour’s reporting. Read the full story at PBS NewsHour →