DALLAS—President Donald Trump said that Republicans must “keep fighting” down the homestretch of the midterm elections and make their case to voters about “how well” the United States is doing.
Trump’s message to Republicans came on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews in response to a question from Breitbart News moments before boarding Air Force One en route to the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Dallas, Texas.
“What do Republicans need to be doing that they aren’t currently doing to win midterms?” Breitbart News asked.
“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 responded.
Trump is set to deliver remarks at the RNC on Wednesday and Thursday. The midterm convention is a first-of-its-kind event. They have historically been reserved for the summer ahead of a presidential election, when delegates gather to formally nominate candidates from the two major political parties.
The stakes of the midterms are enormous as Republicans look to maintain their majorities in both chambers of Congress come November.
They hold a 218-214 majority over Democrats in the House of Representatives with one independent in Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA)—formerly a Republican. In the Senate, they have a 53-47 majority over Democrats and the independents who caucus with them when all Senators are present and voting.
Historically, a party that controls the presidency and both chambers has ceded some power during midterms, as only twice has a party in such a position maintained its congressional majorities. The most recent occasion was in 2002, when Republicans kept the House and Senate on the heels of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The only other instance before that was in 1934, when Democrats expanded their majorities in the House and Senate when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president.
