Even as he makes a case that Republicans should win the midterm congressional elections, President Donald Trump is bracing for the fallout should they lose.
asserted
they → make → fallout
Someone is bound to get blamed, and Trump said at a rally in Tennessee on Saturday that he expects it will be him.
asserted
it → bind → Saturday
“If we don’t win the midterms, they’re going to blame me,” Trump said.
asserted
Trump → win → me
“You know that.
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You → know → that
And if we do win them, I will get no credit whatsoever.
asserted
I → win → credit
It’s true.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
I won’t get any.”
asserted
I → get → any
“But I’m working my ass off,” he added.
asserted
he → work → ass
“You better get out there and vote.”
asserted
You → get → ?
Trump is in “grind it out mode” ahead of the midterms, a person familiar with the matter said, and is prepared for the worst-case election outcome.
asserted
person → grind → outcome
Midterm elections often punish the sitting president’s party, and Trump’s popularity isn’t helping the GOP’s cause.
asserted
popularity → punish → cause
Only 38% approve of his performance in office, compared with 59% who disapprove, according to an NBC News average of polls.
uncertain
who → approve → polls
Trump is looking to defy historical trends by motivating core supporters who might be inclined to sit out the elections, and by offering voters an unusual sweetener if they preserve the Republican majority in the House and Senate.
uncertain
they → look → House
He closed his hour-and-a-half-long speech with a reminder that “with your vote on November 3rd, you’ll get $5,000.”
That’s the size of the check he’s promising to send adults if Republicans win the midterms.
asserted
Republicans → close → midterms
The total price tag is estimated at $1.3 trillion.
asserted
tag → estimate → trillion
Trump is indeed pushing himself as the elections approach, keeping up a frenetic schedule.
asserted
elections → push → schedule
Tennessee was the seventh different state he has visited since the start of October.
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he → visit → October
He had planned to fly to an eighth, Alabama, later in the day to attend the Georgia-Alabama football game, but canceled the trip with Hurricane Isaias bearing down.
asserted
Isaias → plan → trip
Trump used part of the rally to debunk the idea that his popularity has dropped.
asserted
popularity → use → idea
In a social media post Saturday, he wrote that the notion that he’s in disfavor is a “false narrative.”
asserted
he → write → disfavor
On stage, he played a CNN clip showing that his support among his MAGA supporters is nearly unanimous and has shown no slippage since the 2024 elections.
asserted
support → play → elections
(CNN was one of three news outlets that the Trump administration last month banned from White House grounds).
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administration → ban → grounds
“I’m very popular, I really am,” Trump told the crowd.
asserted
Trump → ’m → crowd
For Trump, traveling to a deep-red congressional district in a deep-red state like Tennessee might seem like time wasted in the few weeks left before the midterms.
uncertain
traveling → travel → midterms
Republicans are expected to sweep the state’s House and Senate races.
asserted
Republicans → expect → races
Trump’s rally took place in an indoor arena in a northern Tennessee county that he won by 18 percentage points in the 2024 presidential race.
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he → take → race
Trump himself suggested the state’s congressional candidates are already on a glide path to victory, with or without him.
uncertain
candidates → suggest → him
“These guys are all going to win,” he said.
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he → go → ?
So, I’m saying, ‘What the hell am I doing in Tennessee?’”
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I → say → Tennessee
Answering his own question, he said he wanted to “reward the places that have automatically treated you well.”
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that → answer → you
Trump won Tennessee in all three of his presidential campaigns.
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Trump → win → campaigns
Other Republicans said Trump is hewing to a sensible strategy: mobilizing up his supporters and making sure they vote on Nov. 3 even though he’s not on the ballot.
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he → say → ballot
“It rallies the base,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said in an interview before Trump took the stage.
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Trump → rally → stage
“And that’s really what we’ve got to see in a midterm election.
asserted
we → ’ → election
That’s what you’ve got to have: the base.”
asserted
you → ’ → what
Much of Trump’s address was a recitation of what he considers his chief accomplishments.
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he → consider → address
He cited a rise in the median household income in his first year in office and a drop in the nation’s poverty rate.
asserted
He → cite → rate
Never shy about rebranding American landmarks, he also mused about renaming the Atlantic or Pacific oceans in ways that would ensure he’s not forgotten.
asserted
he → rebrande → ways
Presumably in jest, he said, “We call it, ‘Trump Ocean.’ Or, ‘Ocean of the Americas,’ something like that.
asserted
We → say → that
No, we have to.
asserted
we → have → ?
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
