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WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump Friday insisted Republicans \u201chave a shot\u201d at success in the US midterms despite a feverish end to the campaign for elections that will decide control of Congress.<\/p>\n
Trump reversed course and reinstated two rallies in Kansas and Iowa a day after canceling them, a move which had raised questions about his health and about the state of the race.<\/p>\n
\u201cTypically, a president, whether he\u2019s good or bad, Republican or Democrat, loses the midterms,\u201d Trump told reporters as he hosted Stephen Hubbard, a US detainee recently freed by Russia, in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have a shot at doing well. Maybe very well, but you know, pretty well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump said that he had canceled the two events to hold virtual rallies but that Republicans in Iowa and Kansas called \u201cand they said if you could go, it would be better than a tele-rally.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the 80-year-old\u2019s comments were far from a robust assessment of Republican chances in the November 3 vote.<\/p>\n
\u2018I feel perfect\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Republicans are defending their 53-47 majority in the Senate in Tuesday\u2019s elections, while Democrats are seeking to capture at least one chamber of Congress and curb Trump\u2019s legislative agenda during his final two years in office.<\/p>\n Trump has put himself at the center of the Republicans\u2019 midterm strategy, hoping it will fire up his MAGA (Make America Great Again) base.<\/p>\n But his Trump\u2019s dismal approval ratings and public anger over the Iran war and the cost of living may be a drag on Republican chances.<\/p>\n Trump, who complained of losing his voice earlier this week, had lashed out on Thursday when he was asked if he was scrapping the Kansas trip because he was \u201csick of traveling.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI feel perfect,\u201d Trump snapped, saying he no longer needed to visit Kansas because Republican Senator Roger Marshall was \u201cdoing very well.\u201d<\/p>\n But Trump\u2019s about-face was likely the result of the questions over the energy levels of America\u2019s oldest-ever elected president, political strategist Mike Fahey told AFP.<\/p>\n \u201cMy suspicion is that Trump didn\u2019t particularly like that narrative, and putting the events back on the calendar was the fastest way to kill it,\u201d said Fahey, a veteran of multiple election campaigns.<\/p>\n Both Kansas and Iowa voted comfortably for Trump in 2024, but have emerged as unexpected battlegrounds for Republicans.<\/p>\n Marshall faces a competitive challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton in Kansas, which has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932. In Iowa, Republican congresswoman Ashley Hinson is fighting a close race against Democrat Josh Turek.<\/p>\n Pope Leo votes<\/strong><\/p>\n A record 47.9 million Americans have already voted in the US midterms, with participation surging in key battleground states and registered Democrats outpacing Republicans, figures showed Friday.<\/p>\n The surge is especially pronounced in states with fiercely contested Senate races.<\/p>\n Among the early midterm voters is Pope Leo XIV, the Catholic Church\u2019s first US-born pontiff \u2014 the first known time a pope has voted in a political election.<\/p>\n The head of the world\u2019s 1.4 billion Catholics, who has clashed with US President Donald Trump, submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago, the Vatican said Friday.<\/p>\n A rift earlier this year between the pope and Trump sparked global headlines.<\/p>\n Trump has urged Republicans to \u201cpretend I\u2019m on the ballot\u201d in the midterms, pointing to his presidential election wins in 2016 and 2024 which largely defied the polls.<\/p>\n He has promised a $5,000 \u201cdividend\u201d for every American citizen if Republicans keep control of Congress, and stepped up harsh rhetoric against migrants, Muslims and transgender people.<\/p>\n Trump has also repeatedly warned that he will face a third impeachment if Republicans lose, although Democrats may be more likely to focus on the 2028 presidential election.<\/p>\n Democrats, meanwhile, fear Trump won\u2019t accept a Republican loss in the midterms \u2014 as he did in the 2020 presidential election \u2014 after he recently ramped up claims of voter fraud.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a rigged election in 2020. We cannot ever let that happen again,\u201d Trump said in an interview with the KCMO radio station in Kansas City.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n