Trump Campaigns in Red States as GOP Anxiety Rises

Anderson Cooper (0:02)

Good evening, thanks for joining us. We begin tonight just four weeks out from the midterm elections with new signs of trouble for Republicans. Trouble that the nation's top Republican and star campaigner, President Trump, might not be able to fix because it largely revolves around him, even though he clearly believes otherwise.

A number of candidates in tight races know this and appear to be acting on it. So tomorrow when the president touches down for a campaign stop in San Antonio, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who is running for reelection, will not be appearing with him. He tells The Hill he's got several other appearances elsewhere. Then there's Republican Senate hopeful Ken Paxton, who was recently caught on tape saying the president's midterm convention, which was held in Texas, quote, dropped our numbers. The president certainly believes the opposite, or at least keeps talking like he does.

Donald Trump (0:47)

By the way, I'm going around doing rallies.

The Republican Party started to go right through the roof. Somebody said to that, I wonder why.

Anderson Cooper (0:55)

Well, that is the president today in Maryland, a blue state where he was not at a campaign event. So far this month, he's only campaigned in red state. Saturday will be his second appearance in Alabama state. He won by 30 points back in 2024

Tomorrow will be his second appearance in Texas, which has gotten so problematic for Republicans that yesterday, a state lawmaker, Briscoe Cain, a diehard Trump supporter who helped in the effort to overturn the 2020 election weighed in this online, if the election were held tomorrow, all statewide races go blue. It's hard to believe, but he's talking about Texas. Of course, the election was not today, and a lot can happen between now and November 3rd, and polls could be wrong. But as the president's schedule suggests, it is not just Texas where Republicans see trouble. Late today, the highly respected Cook Political Report changed its prediction for the Kansas Senate race from lean Republican to toss up. The last time Kansas elected a Democratic senator was in 1932, 94 years ago.

Then there's South Carolina, where today the main Senate Republican super PAC said it is sending $5 million to shore of Darlene Graham, Lindsey Graham's sister, in a race that is now and probably close. The president meantime is lashing out at Graham's opponent, Democrat Annie Andrews, using a slur against people who are transgender. Quoting from the president's Truth Social post from last night, Annie Trani Andrews is running against our wonderful Darlene Graham for the Senate in South Carolina. He went on to write, Darlene is a high quality person, maybe the highest, and Annie Trani is not.

For the record, Annie Andrews is a pediatrician, a mother of three and not transgender. She also says she does not support gender-affirming surgery from minors or transgender athletes participating in women's sports.

The president has been increasingly, I'm not sure what the word is, perhaps loose with his language lately. It's not possible to say why, but it is increasingly notable and hard to miss. This is him in Ohio over the weekend.

Donald Trump (2:47)

Let's get out and vote. If you do that, we're going to win and we're going to win big. And we're going to shove it up their ass.

Anderson Cooper (2:54)

Keeping it classy. He also verbally attacked the New York Times for suggesting his Doral Country Club was dirty, spelling the New York Times' excellent reporter Maggie Haberman's first name as Maggot. And in Nebraska last night, though he wasn't vicious or profane, he was speaking precisely enough for some to conclude that he'd be okay with Iran nuke-ing Los Angeles or San Diego.

Donald Trump (3:16)

We have to stop them from having a nuclear weapon. So I was riding in Iowa, I made a speech there and I passed the gas station $1.95 a gallon. I passed another station $1.85 a gallon. We'll have it lower than that in a very short period of time.

And again, remember, with the war, it's just artificial, it's a little bit high. It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. We can take out a city, let him take out Los Angeles, let him take out San Diego.

SPEAKER_3 (3:50)

This is a very small price to pay and it's gonna be over very soon.

Anderson Cooper (3:56)

California's governor called the remarks disgusting and disqualifying. We'll hear from the Los Angeles mayor shortly. The White House said, he was clearly stating US cities would have been threatened if a nuclear run hadn't been stopped.

Is that clear to you? Just imagine any other president said that would people have just shrugged their shoulders. In fact, what other president actually meant to say this time or how he meant it to come out, he certainly never shied away from expressing contempt for big Democratic run American cities before.