United States President Donald Trump has kicked off a 32-day campaign tour ahead of the November midterm elections that could see his Republican Party hurt by his handling of the war on Iran and the economy.
uncertain
Party → kick → Iran
On Thursday, Trump travelled from Washington, DC, for back-to-back rallies in Texas and Oklahoma.
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Trump → travel → Texas
Americans say US-Israel war on Iran not worth fighting: Poll
- list 2 of 3US
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war → say → Iran
FCC head says controversial Trump ads do not raise concerns
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ads → say → concerns
3Despite praise and White House visits, Trump avoids endorsing Netanyahu
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Trump → avoid → Netanyahu
At his first stop in Denton, Texas, Trump sought to shift the narrative around his drooping approval ratings, offering a personal assessment of his administration’s performance.
“I give us an A+ on the government, on economics, on everything,” Trump told a crowd of supporters at the Peterbilt Motors Company, a truck manufacturer.
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Trump → seek → Company
The president also blamed unfair media coverage for his growing unpopularity, arguing that his pre-election rally blitz was necessary to set the record straight.
“We’re doing an extremely poor job of promotion and an extremely great job of running the country,” Trump said.
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Trump → blame → country
But Trump’s poll numbers have raised concerns about Republican prospects ahead of the November 3 midterm election.
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numbers → raise → election
Trump himself is not on the ballot, but Republican candidates across the country are seeking to defend the right-wing party’s majorities in both chambers of Congress, as well as key state and local offices.
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candidates → seek → Congress
The economy and Trump’s war on Iran are expected to weigh heavily on the election outcome.
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economy → expect → outcome
On Thursday, The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released new poll results showing that 71 percent of Americans disapprove of the war, which has driven up the price of fuel.
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which → release → fuel
About half of survey respondents also said they were worried they would not be able to afford food and petrol.
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they → say → food
Only 26 percent approved of Trump’s handling of the economy.
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percent → approve → economy
Taking centre stage
Still, despite record low approval ratings, Trump has positioned himself as key to the Republican midterm strategy.
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Trump → take → strategy
At a first-of-its-kind Republican midterm convention in September, Trump encouraged voters to consider his record while at the ballot box.
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Trump → encourage → box
“I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” he said.
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he → ask → ballot
During Thursday’s tour, he touted the impact of his tariff campaign, which he credited with creating thousands of manufacturing jobs.
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he → tout → jobs
“For decades, you were heartlessly betrayed by politicians, lousy politicians, who let foreign trade cheaters plunder your wages, loot your factories, close up your jobs,” Trump told Peterbilt workers.
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Trump → betray → workers
“They’d still be doing it if I wasn’t here, believe me.”
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I → do → me
Trump’s tariffs, however, have been highly controversial, prompting a series of court challenges.
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tariffs → prompt → challenges
Critics have argued that the sweeping import taxes surpass the president’s constitutional powers.
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taxes → argue → powers
Trump also used his stump speech to ease concerns about the US-Israel war on Iran, which began on February 28.
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which → use → February
Both sides have declared victory, though a ceasefire remains elusive.
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ceasefire → declare → victory
“Just as I promised, I’m ensuring that Iran will be very quickly ended.
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Iran → promise → ?
I will tell you the energy prices are going to be rapidly, rapidly coming down,” Trump said.
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Trump → tell → you
“We’ll win very easily right now,” he added.
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he → win → ?
“I believe right after the election we’ll win, but maybe before the election.”
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we → believe → election
The war, however, resulted in Iran stopping commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the global fuel trade.
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Iran → result → trade
The price of diesel — the fuel the trucks built at the plant use — soared to record highs of more than $6 per gallon (3.8 litres) last week.
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trucks → build → gallon
Petrol prices have similarly skyrocketed.
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prices → skyrocket → ?
Trump, however, has acknowledged that the stakes are high for his presidency in the upcoming midterms.
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stakes → acknowledge → midterms
Losing Republican control of either chamber could create roadblocks for Trump’s legislative agenda during the final two years of his second term.
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Losing → lose → term
But Trump has also expressed concern that he could be impeached for a third time, after two prior impeachments during his first presidency.
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he → express → presidency
At Thursday’s second stop, in Durant, Oklahoma, the Republican leader repeated that fear.
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leader → repeat → fear
“Pretend I’m running, please,” he told the crowd.
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he → pretend → crowd
“If we don’t win, they’ll end up impeaching me.”
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they → win → me
Many of the places Trump is scheduled to visit this month are perceived as reliably Republican voting districts.
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Trump → schedule → districts
Following his stops in Texas and Oklahoma on Thursday, Trump will be heading to Alabama, Ohio and Nebraska in the coming days.
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Trump → follow → days
Still, some elections that ordinarily would be considered shoo-ins for Republicans have grown more competitive in recent months.
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that → consider → months
In Texas, for instance, no Democrat has won a statewide race since the 1990s.
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Democrat → win → 1990s
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
