President Donald Trump told Republicans they need to “keep fighting” and keep talking up the country’s performance in the closing stretch of the midterm campaign, offering a simple prescription for the party as it tries to defend its narrow congressional majorities.
Trump’s remarks came Tuesday on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, just before he boarded Air Force One for Dallas, where he is scheduled to address the Republican National Convention on Wednesday and Thursday. A Breitbart News reporter asked what Republicans should be doing differently to win in November, and Trump did not suggest any change in strategy.
“Just keep fighting and just keep explaining how well we’re doing as a country. We’re doing better now as a country than we’ve ever done before,” Trump said.
The president’s comments land at a moment when Republicans are trying to defy historical headwinds. The party currently holds a 218-214 edge over Democrats in the House, with Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) sitting as an independent after leaving the GOP. In the Senate, Republicans control a 53-47 majority, counting the independents who caucus with Democrats.
The RNC gathering in Dallas is an unusual event. Convention season is traditionally reserved for the summer before a presidential election, when parties formally nominate their candidates for the White House. This midterm convention is the first of its kind, giving the party a stage to rally its base and set its message less than two months before voters head to the polls.
History, however, is not on the side of the party controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress. Only twice has a party in that position managed to keep its congressional majorities in a midterm election. The most recent example came in 2002, when Republicans held the House and Senate shortly after the September 11 attacks. The only other time was 1934, when Democrats actually expanded their majorities under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
That track record underscores the stakes for Trump and Republican leaders as they try to protect their advantage in both the House and Senate. The president’s message — stay on offense and remind voters of the administration’s achievements — suggests the party intends to make the case that this cycle will break from precedent.
Trump did not detail specific policies or contrast with Democratic rivals during the brief exchange, but his emphasis on the country’s standing under his leadership mirrors the argument Republicans have been pressing on the trail and in paid advertising. With early voting already underway in some states, the window for shifting voter sentiment is narrowing.
The president’s trip to Dallas signals the importance the party places on the convention as a platform for energizing activists and donors in the final weeks of the campaign. Republicans are hoping that a unified message — and a robust defense of their record — can blunt the usual midterm backlash and keep control of Capitol Hill when all the votes are counted.
For now, Trump’s advice to his party is straightforward: keep the pressure on, keep making the case, and trust that voters will reward a strong economy and a country he says is performing at its best. Whether that message will be enough to overcome history is the question hanging over the 2026 midterms.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/09/trump-urges-republicans-to-keep-fighting-down-home-stretch-to-midterm-elections/