By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he plans 32 days of campaign travel ahead of the November midterm elections, putting himself and his record at the center of Republicans’ fight to hold on to Congress as polls show Democrats poised for gains.
The November 3 elections will decide whether Republicans retain control of the US House of Representatives and the Senate or whether Democrats gain the power to shape Trump’s final two years in office, including through investigations into his administration.
Many polls show Democrats leading in key House races and challenging for control of the Senate as well, as Americans fret about high gasoline prices and Trump’s ongoing war with Iran.
But Trump, speaking to reporters outside the White House, projected confidence about his party’s prospects and dismissed signs that some Republicans are distancing themselves from him in the final weeks of the campaign.
“You love me, and I love them,” he said, with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson standing alongside him.
Trump said he will soon embark on what he described as “literally a 32-day tour” of various states, including stops in Texas and Ohio this week.
“Just so you understand, they all want me to go. I’m one person. They all want me to go campaign,” he said.
The flurry of campaigning comes later than the president’s advisers initially had envisioned, after a White House calendar dominated for much of the year by foreign policy and the Iran conflict.
Some Republican candidates have welcomed Trump’s involvement, while others have emphasized local issues and their own records as they navigate difficult political terrain.
(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Sanjeev Miglani)
