Here’s the rewrite with Meadows’ key quotes kept prominent and the broader midterm context added.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows says President Donald Trump’s ability to turn out voters could prove critical for Republicans as the party battles to protect its congressional majorities in the final weeks before the November 3 midterm elections.
Meadows, who served as Trump’s White House chief of staff during his first term, told Newsmax on Friday that the president’s campaign schedule could help Republicans reach voters who strongly support Trump but do not always participate when his name is absent from the ballot.
“Turning out the vote is what Donald Trump does best,” Meadows said during an appearance on “The Chris Salcedo Show,” arguing that the president remains uniquely capable of energizing the Republican base.
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“In the area that Donald Trump’s going to, there’s two things they love: Georgia Bulldogs football and Donald Trump. He’s going to be able to turn out voters,” he said of Trump’s Georgia rally.
“And hopefully, with early voting already starting there in Georgia, it’ll come on pretty strong. Making sure that every voter turns out is what Donald Trump does best,” Meadows added.
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“He says he wants everybody to look and pretend like he’s on the ballot. That’s really hard to do in the midterms,” he continued. “Generally, voting turnout is … down significantly.”
Meadows brushed aside polling that pointed to a bad night for Republicans.
“It has not been very accurate since 2016. All these pundits that are talking about what’s happening, all they’re doing is reading the polls and trying to get in front of the train that’s already left the station,” he said.
“There’s one poll that does matter. It’s the poll that’s going to take place with voters on Nov. 3,” Meadows said.
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“Part of the problem that you have with all these polls that are meant to either depress turnout or increase turnout, it does have an effect on people. They say, Well, why should I vote? Why does it matter? It’s already over with,” he added.
“The president is trying to remind people that, no, it’s not over with.”
Meadows said Trump understands that Republicans cannot simply depend on favorable policy arguments or traditional GOP voters showing up on their own, particularly in a midterm election where turnout patterns can differ dramatically from presidential contests.
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Trump has adopted a similarly aggressive message himself, repeatedly urging supporters to treat the November election as though he personally were appearing on the ballot as Republicans confront competitive Senate, House and gubernatorial races around the country.
The president has embarked on an intense campaign schedule during the closing stretch, traveling to states where Republicans are attempting to defend seats and boost turnout among the coalition that powered his 2024 presidential victory.
Meadows argued that Trump’s presence on the campaign trail can help Republican candidates by shifting attention toward the administration’s record and giving voters a reason to view congressional races as a referendum on whether Trump will be able to continue advancing his agenda.
That argument reflects a central challenge facing Republicans in 2026: reproducing enough of Trump’s presidential-year coalition in an election in which Trump himself is not running.
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Trump has increasingly made that challenge explicit, telling supporters at campaign appearances that they should approach the midterms as though he were personally on the ballot.
Meadows has been making the case for months that Republicans should tie their midterm strategy closely to Trump’s agenda rather than distancing themselves from the president.
In a January opinion piece, Meadows argued that the “forgotten men and women of America who stood with President Trump in 2024” would remain with Republicans in the midterms if the administration continued pursuing its America First economic and trade policies.
“The forgotten men and women of America who stood with President Trump in 2024 will stand strong with him again in the 2026 midterms,” Meadows wrote at the time.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
