Trump Campaigns in Texas as Republicans Navigate Midterm Challenges

President Donald Trump took another trip to Texas this week to campaign for Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton (R-TX).

The president returned to San Antonio, Texas, with less than 30 days until the midterm elections. Despite concerns from Paxton and other Republicans that their ties to the president could hurt their polling numbers, Trump kept campaigning for Paxton and other Republican candidates.

“Pretend that I’m on the ballot, because we get a lot more votes,” Trump told the sea of MAGA hats. “In a way we are on the ballot, let’s face it.”

President Trump added that Democrats will “destroy” the work his administration and Republicans have done in the last two years if the party does not remain in power after November.

Although the president remains confident in the party, Republicans in competitive races have increasingly sought to distance themselves from Trump as a campaign strategy.

A Reuters review found that nearly two-thirds of Republican candidates in closely contested 2026 congressional races have diverged from Trump on at least some policy issues.

“Right now, yeah, not good,” Paxton said in a leaked audio recording after Trump’s Republican midterm convention.

But some members of the crowd also expressed opposition. Trump was interrupted multiple times during his speech as protesters were removed from the rally.

“Many of these protesters are paid. You know that, right?” Trump said. “They’re paid by enemies of our nation.”

According to recent polling, the president’s approval rating has hit a career low of 32%.

The president also defended his recent remarks about Iran possibly hitting Los Angeles or San Diego with a missile, which drew backlash from both local and national lawmakers.

“And I said it the other day, let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way,” Trump said. “You want to see a horror show? Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles. You want to see some bad things happen? You want to see a country in free fall? We’re not going to let that happen.”