President Donald Trump is in the midst of a nationwide campaign blitz ahead of the November midterm elections, holding near-daily rallies to boost turnout for Republicans who are fighting to keep control of Congress.
In his 90-minute stump speeches, Trump defends his economic policies, boasts about crowd size, mocks protesters and has even admired a fellow Republican’s buttocks.
Here are five takeaways from Reuters coverage of the president’s appearances, staged mostly in Republican-friendly areas across the country:
At the start of the month, Trump said he had done a “bad job” explaining his economic record. He has tried to remedy that at his rallies, pointing to a record-low poverty rate, low unemployment, record highs in the stock market and cheaper prices for some food items.
But his sales pitch is colliding with voters’ concerns about how much they are spending on gas, groceries and other everyday expenses.
Consumer prices accelerated in September as the cost of gasoline surged. The nationwide average price of gas is $4.27 per gallon ($1.13 per litre), nearly 40% higher than a year ago, according to AAA. Trump has repeatedly promised that gas prices will fall once the Iran war ends.
The disconnect was evident outside Trump’s rally in rural Kansas, where Chester Daniel, a 90-year-old military veteran and Trump supporter, said the economy has “a long way to go” to help working people.
“Prices? Too high! We will never go back to what they were when this all started, but they need to come way down,” Daniel said. “I don’t know how these young people make a living for their family.”
Trump’s travel map signals just how difficult it will be for Republicans to retain control of Congress, with the president forced to play defense deep in conservative territory.
Trump has traveled twice to Texas for Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton, campaigned for Republican Senate incumbent Roger Marshall in Kansas and made two stops in Ohio for Senator Jon Husted. Trump also rallied for Republicans in competitive races in Alaska, Iowa, Montana and South Carolina. He is set to visit Mississippi on Monday.