'Focused on last 30 days before election,' Trump says, pledging to defend Republican majorities in both chambers
Also claims US 'winning big' in Iran war, says surrender only 'matter of time'
![US President Donald Trump speaks at an "End of Summer Barbecue" event with Republican lawmakers in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Wednesday (local time). [EPA]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/03/news-p.v1.20260903.759d8ee1e9fa43ceb3a7d89f9968df08_P1.jpg)
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US President Donald Trump said Wednesday (local time) that he would personally campaign across competitive districts to help Republicans defend their majorities in both chambers of Congress ahead of the November midterm elections.
Speaking at a dinner with Republican lawmakers in the White House Rose Garden, Trump said he would be "100 percent" with them through November. "I'm going to be going all over the place making a lot of speeches," he said.
Trump said "all of this comes down to about 35 districts" and outlined plans to focus his efforts on those battlegrounds. He asked Republican leadership for a list of candidates in competitive races, saying, "I'm going to visit all 35 of those places and we'll see if we can get them all elected."
Trump said he would concentrate his campaigning in the final 30 days before Election Day on Nov. 3, adding that starting too early was counterproductive. "If you start too soon, people forget," he said.
He also vowed to break the so-called midterm curse — the historical pattern in which the president's party loses ground in midterm elections. "Whether you're a good president or a great president, you lose in the midterms," Trump said. "We're going to reverse that." He went on to say, "We need to elect House members and senators, and we need to protect the incumbents."
Trump renewed his attacks on Democrats, calling them "communists" and urging Republican unity. "These are not socialists — they skipped the socialist stage and went straight to communism," he said. "We're going to defeat the Democrat communists."
Trump also repeated his claim that the United States is winning the war against Iran, praising Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was present at the event. "You did a great job last night with respect to Iran," Trump told him. "We are winning very big."
Trump claimed that Iran's military capabilities and economic conditions had deteriorated sharply, saying its surrender was now "just a matter of time." "We now control the Strait of Hormuz, and countless oil tankers pass through there day and night," he said. "Iran has been largely unable to do anything to stop it. We're going to keep it that way."
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