Three rallies in three days: Inside Trump's midterm blitz

This transcript was produced with AI technology that converts speech to text. The text is not always reviewed or edited by Reuters journalists and some errors may occur.

Is this President Donald Trump's final campaign? Now I have been traveling the country with President Trump going to rally after rally in the last few weeks and he is really trying to get out Republican voters for the midterms.

Speaker 2:

In this election I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot, if you don't mind...

Speaker 1:

Even though President Trump's name is not on the ballot, his agenda is.

Speaker 3:

'I love Trump.' 'I'm a gun totin' Trump supporter.'

Speaker 1:

We wanted to bring you along for this blitz of rallies, because when I'm at these rallies, I think if only everyone could attend a Trump rally, not to cheer him on, for everyone, but just to see the support that President Trump had that elected him to office and where that support stands right now. So we're gonna go from here in Florida, MAGA territory to Georgia, where Democrats may be getting a foothold, to Michigan. The president is trying to leverage his MAGA popularity here to bring out Republican voters for other Republican candidates. The question is, will it work?

Speaker 4:

I'm just excited to be here. To be honest, I think he served two great terms but I do think that there's more opportunity for other people to be involved and show new ways and new understandings.

Speaker 5:

Well it's sort of sad that he's going to be leaving, but the good news is hopefully candidates of republicans will replace him and just continue his whole future goals.

Speaker 1:

What do you think of this idea of him trying to go for another term?

Speaker 5:

I would agree with it. You would support that? Absolutely. 100%.

Speaker 1:

How do you get around the Constitution on that?

Speaker 5:

Well it's supposed to be back-to-back, so he was one, he lost, he came back. So he's got to have the Constitution, which is three terms.

Speaker 1:

People out here have Trump 2028 hats on.

Speaker 3:

I'd vote for him again. You would? I would again and again and again. I'm not judging him like some people are judging him.

Speaker 1:

So we are now in central Georgia, and this is a state where Republicans have won every presidential election for the last 30 years, besides one, and that was in 2020 when President Trump was first running for reelection. And it was that year that Democrat John Ossoff was elected to the United States Senate. He's now running for reelection against Republican Congressman Mike Collins. And the way the polls look right now is that Ossoff could be running away with this race, so if President Donald Trump's popularity could help any Republican candidate, it could be here in Georgia.

Speaker 6:

Our country is getting stronger and stronger all the time. And those pump prices are going to come down.

Speaker 1:

How much do you think this midterm election is a referendum on President Trump?

Speaker 7:

Um, well I know some people are a little upset, you know, about the economy. I hear a lot of people saying they can't afford, you know, certain things. So I think I have the right to run again.

Speaker 2:

I think I have the right to run again, because they cheated.

Speaker 1:

President Trump said at a recent rally that he thinks he has the right to run for a third term in office. What do you think about that?

Speaker 8:

I think if we start changing things like that, the others are gonna wanna do that too. And they want control over the United States, and it's going towards communism. And I do not believe in socialism slash communism. Um, why did you want to come to the rally today?

Speaker 3:

I just had to come a rally, and I know that it's probably coming down to the last, you know, few years that we're going to see him on the trail. I watch every single rally on television, and that is no joke. You're kidding. I'm not kidding.

Speaker 1:

Well, first off, these rallies are really loud, but the places where these rallies at are also important. These are in rural areas of Republican states, and that's because the White House is trying to juice out the MAGA supporters who like President Trump, but may not be that reliable of a midterm voter. Trump's presence in these states could also fire up his opposition, like in Michigan, where former President Barack Obama is now rallying for Democrats.

Speaker 9:

in these states could also fire up his opposition. After ten years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence You get to say enough is enough. We're voting for change right here in Michigan.

Speaker 1:

Trump traveled to Michigan after Obama sharply criticized him there, a day earlier.

Speaker 6:

And nine days from now the people of Michigan are going to defeat Abdul Mohamed El-Sayed.

Speaker 1:

There is no other Democrat running for the Senate throughout the country that has received more criticism from President Donald Trump than right here in Michigan Abdul El-Sayed. If he is elected, he would be the first ever Muslim elected to the United States Senate. And that element of his biography got a lot of attention at the rally today. USA! President Trump and others on stage were saying that Michigan voters need to stop El-Sayed from office like the people that were on Flight 93 on 9/11.

Speaker 6:

Todd Beamer and his fellow passengers charged the cockpit and died, stopping the plane from being flown into the United States Capitol, which they think it was aimed right at the Capitol. Twenty-five years later, Michigan needs to stand up and fight just like Todd did to stop a jihadist from walking into the Capitol.

Speaker 1:

And so after the rally I really wanted to ask voters what they thought about President Trump's comments about El-Sayed. I thoroughly dislike that man. Not the president. Abdul El-Sayed.

Speaker 10:

He is radical, and he's dangerous.

Speaker 1:

Do you have any concerns that he's being unfairly judged for his religion though?

Speaker 10:

Ah, yes, to a degree, yes I do. We shouldn't base our viewpoints on a religion or skin color, but then again, as President Trump said, I really don't feel he should be in office.

Speaker 1:

When I walked outside of the auditorium // Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate candidate, was right here, so I tried going up to him and asking him what he thought about President Trump invoking 9/11

Speaker 11:

..Do you agree with his comments connecting El-Sayed to 9/11 sir? What do you think about the 9/11 comments, Mr. Rogers? They want to point to my name and my faith because they think that they can distract you from paying attention to the issues in your life.

Speaker 6:

We will make America powerful again. Wealthy again. Healthy again. Strong again. Proud again. Safe again. And most importantly, we will make America great again. Thank you very much Michigan, thank you. [This transcript was produced with AI technology that converts speech to text. The text is not reviewed or edited by Reuters journalists and some errors may occur.]