VANDALIA, OH - Throughout his long, rambling speech on Oct. 3, President Donald Trump seemed to sense the urgency facing Republicans in the upcoming midterm election.
GOP candidates across the country, including those in Ohio, are struggling to overcome an unpopular war in Iran, higher gas and grocery prices, rising interest rates and widespread concerns among voters about the safety of artificial intelligence and the impact of data centers on their communities.
Trump offered a solution to his party's challenges: Double down on him.
"Just pretend I'm running," he told several thousand cheering supporters who crowded into a high school gym to listen to him. "Just get out and vote. If you do, then we're going to win and we're going to win big. And
we're going to shove it up their ass."
Trump joined by Jon Husted, Vivek Ramaswamy
Over more than 90 minutes, Trump hit on many of the same themes he's hammered home for years at rallies and on the campaign trail. He compared immigrants to snakes, he ridiculed his opponents as "lunatics" and "communists," and he blamed Democrats for whatever ails the economy.
Those talking points were a hit with his supporters, who showed up waving flags and wearing red MAGA hats, but he won't know until Election Day whether his approach will help Republican candidates who find themselves in tight races, including Ohio Sen. Jon Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy, who's running for governor. Both men attended the rally and stood side-by-side with Trump, promising to back his policies.
"This state needs and deserves a governor who will collaborate with, work with and partner with the president of the United States," Ramaswamy told the crowd.
Trump pushes data centers, tariffs
A year ago, with Trump fresh off his third consecutive win in Ohio in a presidential race, few would have questioned the wisdom of an Ohio politician vowing to collaborate and partner with the president. But a lot has changed in the past year. The average price of a gallon of gas in Ohio is $4.08, compared to $3.05 a year ago. Inflation is up from 2.7% last year to 3.4%. And unemployment ticked up to 4.2% after a disappointing jobs report Friday.
Trump's approval rating nationwide stood at 38% Saturday, according to the Real Clear Polling average. More than 60% of Americans said they disapprove of his performance.
Even in Ohio, the polling news is getting worse. A new Suffolk University/USA TODAY Ohio Network survey of likely voters found the president's approval rating in the state now sits at 35%.
Trump appeared unconcerned at his rally. He told the crowd they were living through a "golden age of America" and that the first two years of his presidency had been "the most consequential" in history. He said he loved the word "tariff," even though polls show most Americans don't favor his taxes on imports, and he expressed support for unregulated AI research and data centers, views that polls show most Americans don't share.
An April poll from Bowling Green State University showed most Ohioans believe data centers are bad for home energy costs and the environment. More than 70% of respondents favored temporarily banning new centers until the effects are better studied.
“There’s so much money to be made for Ohio,” Trump said. “You can’t just turn them off.”
DeWine attends funeral for Haitian, skips Trump rally
It was not his biggest applause line of the night. Ads opposing Husted this year have attacked him for supporting data centers, and a memo written this summer by the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned the issue could cost Husted his race against former Sen. Sherrod Brown.
“More than any other thing in this race, data centers are the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck,” the memo said.
Trump also touted his immigration crackdown, especially his efforts to deport thousands of Haitians who moved to Springfield to live and work after the United States granted them temporary protected status because of violence in their home country.
Trump compared them to snakes and said Springfield would be better off without them. But on the same day Trump spoke in Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine attended a funeral in Springfield for a young Haitian immigrant who reportedly took his own life after immigration officials ordered him to wear an ankle monitor.
DeWine did not attend Trump's rally.
"He wanted to be a part of this country," DeWine said of Pierre Damas Bel. "It's not only a personal tragedy for the family, the community, but it's a tragedy for this country that we're losing people like this. We don't have to lose them, we should have them here."
Even on immigration, once an advantage for Trump, his policies now are viewed negatively by most Americans. Real Clear Polling found 43% of Americans now approve of his immigration policies, compared to 54% who disapprove.
Trump, however, mocked those who doubt his ability to win an election, even if he's not on the ballot. But just in case, he offered another incentive by repeating a promise he first made weeks ago.
If Republicans win, he said, the U.S. government will pay every American adult $5,000.
Columbus Dispatch reporter Samantha Hendrickson contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Trump urges Ohio voters to 'just pretend I'm running' in midterms
