President Trump plunged into his final two days of midterm campaigning Sunday with rallies in Georgia and Tennessee, saying the excitement of Republican voters is at a “fever” pitch.
“The level of fervor, the level of fever is very strong on the Republican side,” Mr. Trump said as he left the White House. “I can’t speak to the blues, but I can speak to the reds.”
The president said his record pace of campaign rallies — 11 events in eight states in the last week alone — will make a “big difference” in as many as seven Senate races. But in recent days he has expressed less optimism about the GOP holding the House, telling a West Virginia crowd, “I’ll just figure it out” if Democrats win the majority.
In Macon, Georgia, Mr. Trump referred to “electricity in the air” as he urged thousands of cheering voters to turn out for Brian Kemp, the Republican candidate for governor, who holds a slim lead in the polls over Democrat Stacey Abrams. The president called Ms. Abrams “one of the most extreme, far-left politicians in the entire country” and said she would support government confiscation of firearms.
“If Stacey Abrams gets in, your Second Amendment is gone,” Mr. Trump said, turning sarcastic. “You wouldn’t mind if somebody comes knocking, ’Please, I’d like to have your guns turned over to government.’ “
The president said Mr. Kemp “will keep your families safe.”
“He’s always behind our police and our law enforcement, and he will never let anything bad happen to our Second Amendment, which believe me is under siege,” Mr. Trump said.
The president emphasized the strong economy and its benefits for Georgians, saying a vote for Mr. Kemp will help continue the state’s prosperity. He acknowledged that his appearance for a gubernatorial candidate is relatively rare.
“I haven’t done too much for governors,” Mr. Trump said. “People don’t realize how important governorships are. They can destroy your state quickly, or make it better.”
From Georgia, Mr. Trump flew to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to campaign for GOP Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn. She is leading in recent polls against Democratic former Gov. Phil Bredesen.
Mr. Trump has brushed aside criticism from within his own party in recent days that his immigration message was distracting from the booming economy. The infighting included some public sparring on Twitter last week with House Speaker Paul Ryan after Mr. Trump suggested ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.
Forging ahead with his multipronged message at a rally Friday in Huntington, West Virginia, Mr. Trump acknowledged the flack from some fellow Republicans.
“They all say speak about the economy, speak about the economy. Well, we have the greatest economy in the history of our country but sometimes it’s not as exciting to talk about the economy, right?” he told the huge and enthusiastic crowd. “We have a lot of other things to talk about.”
The president’s stump speech — veering from the migrant caravan to illegal immigration woes and the confirmation fight over Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh — shows that he is cognizant that economic good times are not as strong a motivator for voters as political grievances.
Sen. Thom Tillis, vice chairman of Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, said Mr. Trump is hitting all the right notes, including pushing back on Democrats’ claims that they alone will provide health care coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.
“When you have to boil it down to 15- or 30-second sound bites, they’re going to pick the piece that seems like he is not talking about [the economy],” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“If people look at the totality of an hour, hour and 15-minute long speech, you’re going to see the president spent the bulk of the time talking about reduce regulations, increase jobs, reduce unemployment, better stature against NATO, taking North Korea and taking China to task on their bad behaviors — all that comes out in his speech,” he said.
On Saturday in Pensacola, Florida, Mr. Trump knocked “fake news” for saying he doesn’t talk enough about the economy.
“We can talk about the economy, but the fact is we know how well we are doing with the economy and we have to solve problems. I’m looking to solve problems,” he said at a rally where he sought to boost GOP candidates Rick Scott for Senate and Ron DeSantis for governor.
The president also dismantled the legacy of former President Barack Obama Friday night in one stream-of-consciousness blast at a campaign rally in Indiana.
Campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Mike Braun, Mr. Trump noted that Mr. Obama was stumping for incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly.
“It’s no surprise that Joe Donnelly is holding a rally this weekend with Barack H. Obama,” Mr. Trump said.
Then he let loose on his predecessor, who has criticized Mr. Trump as dishonest.
“We don’t want to go back to the Obama days of low wages, high unemployment, rising crime, open borders, far-left judges, oppressive regulations, horrible, horrible trade deals, disastrous foreign policy — look at the mess I inherited in North Korea, and look at how well we’re doing now — and terrible health care,” the president told the cheering crowd. “If you want prosperity for your family, safety for your children, security for your country, vote for Mike Braun.”
Mr. Obama has been campaigning around the country for Democrats in recent weeks. At a rally in Miami earlier on Friday, he accused Mr. Trump of a “political stunt” by deploying more than 5,000 troops to the Mexican border to confront a caravan of illegal immigrants.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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