U.S. President Donald Trump campaigned in Kentucky on Saturday, appealing for votes for the Republican Party's poor performance in the midterms, while boasting about his power after his second term in the White House, saying, "I can do incredible things."
Trump delivered a speech in Highland Heights to support Republican candidates, including Ed Galloway ( Ed Gallrein ), who is running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his speech, Trump mentioned his decision to change the U.S. government's designation of the Gulf of Mexico to "American Gulf."
"I don't think I could have accomplished this during my first term. This term, I have much more power," Trump said, "During my first term, Google wouldn't even answer my calls. Now, they are extremely respectful to me."
“Hmm, I also renamed a lake in Canada to ‘Lake America,’” he continued, referring to Lake Ontario.
The powers Trump claims to possess contrast with the dissatisfaction of voters regarding how he exercises those powers. Tariffs and the war with Iran have pushed up prices, and more Americans believe that the president is acting in his own interests rather than for the national good.
With control of both chambers of Congress still up in the air — if Democrats win, they will have the opportunity to investigate his administration — Trump has put himself before the voters, asking them to "pretend I'm on the ballot too." However, Republicans privately worry that the public's growing dissatisfaction with his administration could become a burden.
Trump nominated one of his private lawyers to serve as Attorney General, ordered military strikes against ships accused of drug trafficking, attempted to have his name associated with the Kennedy Center, and sought to profit himself and his family during his tenure.
In his speech in Kentucky, Trump also mentioned oil prices, stating that the war with Iran would end soon – a judgment he has made several times during this nearly eight-month conflict – and that oil prices would drop to levels lower than before. The audience responded with cheers.
Faced with unfavorable election prospects, Trump is attempting to paint a dire picture of what would happen if Democrats come to power in the final weeks before the midterms. He claims that if his rival party wins, the United States will "fall into depression," and accuses the Democratic agenda of including the abolition of the U.S. Senate and the Supreme Court.
This content is not included in the Democratic Party's platform. However, Trump has attempted to link the Democratic Party with organizations of American democratic socialists, some of whom had a few candidates win in this year's primary elections.
Trump also reiterated a untenable promise of his: if the Republicans win control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, every adult American would receive $5,000. Such a measure is likely to cost over $1 trillion and would require congressional approval, while also exacerbating the United States' annual budget deficit, which is already close to $1.8 trillion.
Trump also made a new promise to Kentucky that seemed to be conditional. He said that if the Republicans win, the Department of Defense will invest in revitalizing a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in the state.
The president then brought Galleen onto the stage. Galleen defeated Representative Thomas Massie ( Thomas Massie ) in the Republican Party primary elections. Massie had angered Trump by pushing for the release of Jeffrey Epstein's documents and opposing the war in Iran, while the president successfully supported Galleen to win the party primary.
However, Massie still has supporters due to his adherence to his staunchly conservative principles, even if that means voting against his own party. When Trump called Massie a "jackass" and a "loser" and praised Gallen as a more loyal replacement, the reaction from the audience was not enthusiastic. Only about half of the venue applauded at Trump's insults, while the other half remained silent.
