The White House is telling allies that President Donald Trump did everything he could to help Republicans in the US midterm elections, whatever the result, as he prepared to watch the returns with supporters in the East Room on Tuesday night, CNN reported.
“There is nobody who has worked harder than President Trump,” says a set of talking points distributed to allies and administration officials on Tuesday. The document highlights the nearly 30 rallies he held over the past month across Republican-leaning states.
Officials have stressed that Trump gave his all to keep the party’s majorities in Congress. The message also lays the ground for blaming any Republican losses on the candidates themselves, according to CNN.
The White House says Trump’s effort, together with a parallel campaign push by Vice President JD Vance, made a difference in the final month. Officials have told allies that Republicans are “in a better spot now than they were four weeks ago”, without predicting the outcome.
Trump himself acknowledged on Monday that history was against him. “We gave this a very strong shot,” he said in a speech at the Reflecting Pool.
He has admitted that the campaign blitz was exhausting, saying he tried to cut it short but was persuaded to hold final events in Iowa and Kansas.
Opinion polls ahead of the vote showed Democrats favoured to win the House of Representatives, Reuters reported, with a handful of closely fought Senate races set to decide whether they also take the Senate. Democrats need to gain at least three House seats and four Senate seats to win majorities in both chambers.
Trump’s approval rating is close to the lowest of his career, according to Reuters, and the president’s party has lost ground in Congress in all but two midterm elections since the Second World War.
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