WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is in the midst of a nationwide campaign blitz ahead of the November midterm elections, holding near-daily rallies to boost turnout for Republicans who are fighting to keep control of Congress.
asserted
who → hold → Congress
In his 90-minute stump speeches, Trump defends his economic policies, boasts about crowd size, mocks protesters and has even admired a fellow Republican’s buttocks.
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Trump → defend → buttocks
Here are five takeaways from Reuters coverage of the president’s appearances, staged mostly in Republican-friendly areas across the country:
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takeaways → stag → country
Trump’s economic pitch collides with voter reality
At the start of the month, Trump said he had done a “bad job” explaining his economic record.
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he → collide → record
He has tried to remedy that at his rallies, pointing to a record-low poverty rate, low unemployment, record highs in the stock market and cheaper prices for some food items.
But his sales pitch is colliding with voters’ concerns about how much they are spending on gas, groceries and other everyday expenses.
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they → try → gas
Consumer prices accelerated in September as the cost of gasoline surged.
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cost → accelerate → gasoline
The nationwide average price of gas is US$4.27 a gallon (S$1.44 per litre) - nearly 40% higher than a year ago, according to AAA.
uncertain
price → accord → AAA
Trump has repeatedly promised that gas prices will fall once the Iran war ends.
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war → promise → ?
The disconnect was evident outside Trump’s rally in rural Kansas, where Chester Daniel, a 90-year-old military veteran and Trump supporter, said the economy has “a long way to go” to help working people.
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economy → say → people
We will never go back to what they were when this all started, but they need to come way down,” Daniel said.
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Daniel → go → ?
“I don’t know how these young people make a living for their family.”
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people → know → family
Rally map shows Republicans playing defence
Trump’s travel map signals just how difficult it will be for Republicans to retain control of Congress, with the president forced to play defence deep in conservative territory.
Trump has travelled twice to Texas for Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton, campaigned for Republican Senate incumbent Roger Marshall in Kansas and made two stops in Ohio for Senator Jon Husted.
Trump also rallied for Republicans in competitive races in Alaska, Iowa, Montana and South Carolina.
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Trump → show → Alaska
He is set to visit Mississippi on Oct 26.
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He → set → Oct
Those are places Republicans are accustomed to winning easily, not battlegrounds where Trump would spend time during the crucial final weeks before an election.
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Trump → accustom → election
Paxton narrowly trails Democrat James Talarico in polls, while Marshall faces a serious challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton in a state that has not elected a Democratic senator in nearly a century.
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that → trail → century
Husted trails former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in polls in Ohio, and Republican Senate hopeful Ashley Hinson is in a close race against Democrat Josh Turek in Iowa.
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Hinson → trail → Iowa
Notably absent from Trump’s travels so far with less than two weeks until Election Day: Michigan, Maine, Minnesota and New Hampshire – also home to tight Senate races.
He is soon poised to hit some of those locations.
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He → poise → locations
He is scheduled travel to Michigan on Oct 25 and has said he also plans to go to Maine.
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he → schedule → Maine
Trump’s boasts about big crowds meet uneven reality
Trump has made crowd sizes a recurring theme of his midterm rallies, portraying packed arenas and thousands of people he says are stranded outside as evidence of his persisting popularity.
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he → meet → popularity
Some rallies have drawn capacity crowds but have shown little sign of the overflow Trump described.
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Trump → draw → overflow
At others, large sections of seats remained empty even in modest-sized venues.
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sections → remain → venues
“I’m doing these every night, and no matter where I go, it’s the same thing.
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it → do → these
It’s massive crowds,” Trump said at a rally in North Carolina on Oct 20.
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Trump → ’ → Oct
“We have big screens outside.
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We → have → screens
There’s something going on that’s very special.”
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that → ’ → ?
The venue was filled to capacity, but there were no signs of crowds outside waiting to get in or watching on screens.
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venue → fill → screens
At an Oct 7 rally in San Antonio, Texas, Trump said lines stretched over 3km outside the arena even as sizable sections inside remained empty.
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sections → say → arena
Crowd sizes are not always an accurate measure of political support, but Trump has pointed to them as a sign of strength even as his approval rating has fallen to 31%, the lowest of either of his presidential terms, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Oct 19.
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rating → point → Oct
For Republican candidates, the question is whether the enthusiasm he generates among his supporters can translate into votes for them.
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he → generate → them
France becomes a ‘bete noire’ for midterms
Trump has often used French President Emmanuel Macron as a foil in his campaign stump speeches, claiming he strong-armed Macron into raising prescription drug prices in France by threatening tariffs on a popular French export, champagne, and other goods.
But in the last week or so Trump has seized on another narrative about France, casting its violent unrest of recent weeks as a warning of what he says could happen in the US if Democrats win in the midterms.
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Democrats → become → midterms
Trump has blamed the unrest on migrants and Muslims, following a familiar playbook that has featured in his politics for more than a decade.
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that → blame → decade
“What the hell happened to France?” Trump told a crowd in a livestock competition arena in Clemson, South Carolina, on Oct 21.
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Trump → happen → Oct
Notably, the French protests have taken a larger role in Trump’s recent speeches than two other major foreign policy headaches he has been unable to resolve: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and his war against Iran.
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he → take → Iran
“They’ll end one way or another,” Trump said of the two conflicts at his Clemson rally.
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Trump → end → rally
He did not elaborate on how they might end, but complained that he was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to resolve conflicts around the world.
uncertain
he → elaborate → world
Trump puts the body in body politic
Trump has long had a fixation on the human physique that stretches beyond the body politic.
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that → put → politic
This campaign season, Trump has given particular attention to Husted, a 59-year-old former college football player for the University of Dayton.
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Trump → give → Dayton
At rallies in Ohio, Kentucky and North Carolina, Trump marvelled at Husted’s physique, at one point saying his backside is “like a pile of muscle.”
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backside → marvel → muscle
“Then I looked at his legs, and I said, ‘Man, his feet are big.’
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feet → look → legs
Then I looked at his shoulders, and I tapped him on the shoulder, and
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I → look → shoulder
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
