WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is aggressively positioning himself at the center of next year’s midterm elections, treating the 2026 vote as a crucial test of his presidency and political survival.
According to nine Republican officials involved in campaign strategy, Trump is directly calling candidates, issuing early endorsements, and shaping the GOP’s economic message to defend Republican majorities in Congress.
As early as mid-2025, 18 months before Election Day, Trump personally urged several House Republicans considering Senate or gubernatorial runs to seek re-election instead, hoping to avoid divisive primaries, according to a White House official and senior party advisers.
Political analysts say such hands-on involvement from a sitting president so early in a midterm cycle is “extremely unusual.”
“Presidents usually are wheeled into action later in the campaign season,” said Bill Galston, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton. “This is extremely unusual.”
A Push to Reclaim the Economic Narrative
Trump’s heightened urgency followed disappointing state and local election results on November 4, when exit polls showed voters blaming Republicans for rising living costs.
In multiple post-election meetings, Trump “angrily told aides that Republicans should own the affordability message,” a senior White House official said. The president reminded staff that his administration came into office pledging to fight inflation.
“Trump has been absolutely clear that affordability is the center of our economic agenda,” the official said.
While inflation remains stubborn, partly due to tariffs Trump imposed on imports, the administration has begun rolling back duties on items such as beef, coffee, and fruit to lower prices.
“He’s definitely going to exert more pressure on the administration to move even quicker to provide policy solutions,” a senior Trump adviser added.
Trump now holds frequent sessions with aides reviewing polling, fundraising figures, and voter sentiment data as he refines the party’s economic messaging.
Poll Troubles and Political Risks
Despite his activism, Trump’s approval rating has dropped to 38%, its lowest this year, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on November 18.
“The reality is, when a president is unpopular, he takes seats away from his party,” said Republican strategist Doug Heye, a frequent Trump critic.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai defended the president’s record, citing “yet another drug pricing deal, five new trade deals, record-breaking commercial and investment deals with Saudi Arabia, new stock market highs, and a blockbuster jobs report.”
Tax Cuts at the Center of GOP Messaging
Trump is instructing Republican candidates to campaign on his “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed in July 2025, which extended and expanded several 2017 tax cuts.
The measure promises average savings of $3,752 per taxpayer in 2026, according to the Tax Foundation.
“People are going to get money back in their pocket in April because of the tax cuts,” said a Trump adviser. “That hasn’t connected to the electorate yet.”
However, analysts caution the issue may have limited traction.
“The tax cuts don’t necessarily mean that prices are lower,” said Kyle Kondik of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “People are very pessimistic about the economy.”
A Firewall Against Impeachment
Trump’s focus on maintaining Republican control of Congress is as much about self-preservation as it is about policy, aides say.
“This is as much about him as it is about the future of the party,” a Republican operative involved in Senate races told Reuters. “The Senate is the last line of defense before attacks on the president can move forward in terms of impeachment.”
Republicans currently hold narrow majorities in both chambers. Losing even one could allow Democrats to stall Trump’s agenda — or reopen impeachment proceedings.
Trump has already endorsed at least 16 Senate candidates and 47 House hopefuls, an unusually large number at this stage, as part of an early bid to strengthen party unity.
Trump’s Unusual Early Campaign Role
Trump has privately urged lawmakers such as Bill Huizenga (Michigan), Zach Nunn (Iowa), and Mike Lawler (New York) to abandon bids for higher office and seek re-election to preserve GOP House seats, a strategy all three have since embraced.
Republican National Committee spokesperson Kiersten Pels said Trump’s “hands-on engagement is a decisive advantage heading into 2026.”
Democrats, however, see it differently.
“Every stop on his midterm campaign tour will remind Americans how he has made life harder for everyday people,” said Kendall Witmer, spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee.
