President Donald Trump promised that Republicans will win big in November against the Democrats and ‘shove it up their a**.”
Trump made the comments Saturday night in Ohio as he campaigned ahead of the midterm elections.
"Just get out and vote," Trump said. "If you do that, we're going to win, and we're going to win big, and we're going to shove it up their a**.”
In the Buckeye State, both Sen. Jon Husted and Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy face tough battles against the Democrats. Trump joined both for the rally just weeks before the midterms. If Democrats win big in November, it will shift majority control of Congress to Democrats and serve as a roadblock to the president’s agenda.
To help encourage people to vote in the midterms, Trump made a simple plea to the crowd.
“If you don’t mind, please pretend that I’m on the ballot,” he said.
The president made his appearance to fire up Ohio voters a day after he released a series of videos on his Truth Social platform reminding Americans about his “dividend” payments. Trump has said if Republicans win in November, he will send $5,000 checks to all Americans.
“Only Republicans can do it, and Democrats can't, because we're taking in massive amounts of money through tariffs and tremendous economic success,” Trump said in the video.
Trump’s promise and the Ohio rally come as polling continues to show Republican struggles ahead of the midterms. Many Americans have soured on Trump over his Iran war, controversy about the Epstein files and high prices hitting their wallets.
According to the New York Times polling averages, Trump has a 37 percent approval rating and a 61 percent disapproval rating.
“There's no floor for Republicans right now,” Head of data science at VoteHub Zachary Donnini told USA TODAY. “I think there's a 20 or 25 percent chance the midterm outcome is devastating for Republicans because Trump is super unpopular and Republican voters seem to be not super enthused to come out.”
Trump also used the rally to bash some of his frequent targets including CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico.
The president has frequently targeted Collins and her network. He recently barred CNN and other outlets from the White House, only to see a court step in and block that decision. Trump has also ripped Collins when she asks questions.
“She’s such an unhappy person,” Trump said at the Ohio rally. “She’s a young, nice person, but she never smiles. She’s a very unhappy person.”
Trump also took shots at Talarico, who is ahead slightly - based on polling - in Texas against Republican Ken Paxton. Texas has long been a Republican stronghold, but Talarico push has shown the state moving towards the middle.
In Ohio, Trump mocked “Talafreako” - as he has nicknamed him - for being a vegan his whole life. But Trump claimed Talarico only started to attend barbecues to appear more like other Texans.
“What they don’t show is he goes to the back of the tent every time and he’s throwing up all over the place,” Trump said. “He’s not for meat.”
