President Donald Trump rejected the midterms preview presented by public polling on a Saturday evening rally in Vandalia, Ohio. According to Mediaite, he said he does not care what the polls show, or what he called the “fake news,” and told supporters that Republicans are set to shock the world, Democrats included, by doing much better than expected.
He tied that forecast to turnout. Republicans will be fine, he said, if conservatives do not stay home on Election Day, and he asked the crowd to treat the races as if his own name were still on the ballot. “If you don’t mind, please pretend that I’m on the ballot,” Trump said.
The request came while he was campaigning for Sen. John Husted and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. He told Ohioans it is critical to vote for both men “even if you hate” them, because he said a Democratic win would be a travesty.
Rally remarks cover turnout, reporters, and Democratic candidates
Trump framed the election as a surprise waiting for the other party if his voters show up. “They’re in for a big surprise. It’s very simple: You gotta get out and vote. You gotta get out. You gotta vote for these guys,” he said. “If you do that, we’re gonna win and we’re gonna win big.”
He then lifted his right arm and pointed toward the reporters covering the event. He accused them of working with what he called the “Dumocrats” to rig the election, and the line that followed drew a big roar from the crowd. “And we’re gonna shove it up their a**, okay?” Trump said.
The speech also took in several Democrats and media figures he often singles out, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, and James Talarico, a progressive Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Texas. The rally came as Trump’s standing with voters has slipped, as a new poll found his approval hitting a new low while the GOP faces the prospect of losing the House and Senate. Trump called Talarico “Talafreako” and said he had been a “vegan all his life” before he began going to barbecues “all the time” to appeal to 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.”
Collins drew a separate round of criticism, and the crowd answered with boos. “She’s such an unhappy person,” Trump said. “She’s a young, nice person, but she never smiles. She’s a very unhappy person.”
Trump also said Democrats are pushing ideas he called anti-American. He pointed to what he described as the “mutilization” of children and to Democratic opposition to voter ID laws.
The Ohio appearance lands while pretty much every major poll has Democrats ahead of Republicans on the generic congressional ballot. Mediaite points out that lead has held even after CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten reported that liberals “despise” party leaders such as Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. Trump has ramped up his efforts to make up ground for Republicans as he recently announced a $5000 dividend if the GOP keeps hold of the Congress.
