Donald Trump made a candid admission at a rally in Denton, Texas, as polls show his support plummeting ahead of next month's midterm elections. Facing a tough fight to keep control of the US House of Representatives and the Senate in November, the President told supporters to "pretend I'm running".
Trump will not appear on the ballot next month — the next presidential election is scheduled for 2029, and he is barred from standing as he is in his second term. He nevertheless implored the crowd, suggesting that a Democratic victory could lead to personal consequences for him.
President's plea to supporters
"We do great when I'm on the ballot," he said. "When I'm not on the ballot, people don't go and vote so much. Pretend I'm running please, 'cos I am on the ballot, and if we don't win, they'll end up impeaching me."
Social media users shared the same response. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, one person remarked: "This just motivated every American to vote Democrat." Another wrote: "That's the best campaign slogan Democrats could get!" Someone else said: "Well if (Trump) supporters pretend he's on the ballot but Republicans actually lose their races, they can blame HIM."
And a different user said: "Pretend he's on the ballot, because that's how he gets impeached again, and maybe removed." However, someone else warned: "They shouldn't impeach him because if they do that's gives JD Vance a chance."
Record disapproval in polls
Trump has good reason to be concerned, according to recent polling. A survey conducted by CNN last month found that 50 per cent "strongly disapprove" of his handling of the country — the highest figure ever recorded for any President ahead of a Midterm Election in American history.
The network's Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten stated: "There's record hatred towards the President of the United States going into a midterm." He further noted that, while Trump has long been a divisive figure attracting high numbers of strong disapproval, he had previously performed well amongst those who "strongly approve" of him.
That is no longer the case — just 18 per cent of people now say they strongly approve of him — compared to the average rating of 27 per cent at this stage of a President's term.
"So Trump actually has fewer people loving him than what we see with average President," Harry said. "So what is going on here is - normally Trump is able to counteract that strong hatred with strong love, but not any more, as that strongly approved number has actually dipped below for what we normally see for a President going into a Midterm Election."
Impeachment history
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives, and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate, are contested on November 3. Numerous states and territories will also hold elections for governor, attorney general, and other positions.
Trump has previously faced impeachment on two separate occasions — firstly in 2019 after an inquiry established that he had sought foreign interference in the 2020 election, and had directed officials to disregard subpoenas for documents and testimony. In 2021 he was once again impeached on charges of inciting the January 6 assault on the US Capitol. On both occasions the Senate voted to acquit him.
He is only the third President to face impeachment proceedings, following Andrew Johnson in 1868, and Bill Clinton in 1998, both of whom were likewise acquitted by the Senate. Impeachment proceedings were initiated against Richard Nixon in 1973 in the wake of the Watergate scandal, however he stepped down the following year before any vote could take place.
