President Donald Trump has given the green light to pour millions of dollars from his personal PAC toward boosting vulnerable Republicans in November, as some top campaign advisers privately acknowledge that Republicans’ chances of keeping control of both the House and Senate are dwindling.
Trump’s Campaign Plan
Trump’s political team is still debating what the final dollar figure will be, though one person familiar with the discussions floated $30 million in the first tranche. The long-awaited cash infusion is happening in the coming weeks, two people said, describing it as the first salvo in a stretch-run effort as November looms just three months away.
Trump is also belatedly preparing to ratchet up his own campaigning schedule, with plans to travel at least once a week to hold a spate of rallies in battleground districts, one adviser said. His team first promised this move months ago, and Republicans have long argued it’s a crucial step to energizing pro-life, pro-Second Amendment voters critical to the party’s midterm chances.
There is a path where we keep the House and the Senate, one source told CNN. I’m not in a place today where I’m prepared to say we’re cautiously optimistic about that. Trump has recently told his closest aides that he wants to be out more stumping for GOP candidates, but advisers acknowledge his enthusiasm could evaporate just as quickly.
Challenges Ahead
The prospect of persistently high gas prices has particularly damaged Trump’s standing, people familiar with the internal discussions said, serving as a prominent visual reminder of an affordability crisis that many Americans feel has gotten worse under this administration. It’s higher prices; that’s what they’re upset about, said one of the advisers.
Perhaps reacting to those pressures, both Vice President JD Vance and departing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt this week started emphasizing that lowering gas prices was equally as or more important to Trump than keeping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
