Tipsheet

President Trump Kicks Off the 2026 Midterm Push, Blasting Democrats For Creating the Affordability Crisis

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  January 28, 2026 10:45 AM

President Trump kicked off a series of rallies ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, pledging that Republicans will hold both the House and Senate, defying the historic trend of midterm losses for the party in power. In his kickoff speech, Trump tore into Democrats over what he called a manufactured affordability crisis, arguing that putting them back in power would only make the economic squeeze on American families worse.

“We can never forget what that group of morons did to this country. We can never forget it, and that’s why we’ve got to win the midterms,” Trump said.

“The first time you heard about it was like a few months ago: ‘This election is all about affordability.’ Well, they’re the ones that caused the problem, but nobody knows that,” he said. “You know, people forget. So they say, ‘Oh, affordability, let’s vote for the Democrats.’ They caused tremendous price increases.”

"If we lose the midterms, you’ll lose so many of the things that we’re talking about, so many of the assets that we’re talking about, so many of the tax cuts," Trump warned.

“I’m here because I love Iowa, but I’m here because we’re starting a campaign to win the midterms,” he added. “We’re going to really work hard on winning the midterms. We have great candidates.”

“We have candidates that rule with common sense, not this craziness. You know, we’re not going to be supporting transgender for all, men and women’s sports and open borders,” Trump said.

Later in the rally, a pair of leftist protesters interrupted the president, prompting Trump to quip, “I wouldn’t have to listen to lunatics like this up there!” The protesters were quickly drowned out as the crowd erupted into chants of “USA.”

The remarks come as President Trump has pledged to lead Republicans to victory in 2026, even as the party holds only razor-thin majorities in both chambers of Congress. Republicans currently control the House 220-213 and the Senate 53-47. While the GOP is widely expected to retain the Senate, the House presents a far steeper challenge, with a growing wave of high-profile retirements, ranging from vulnerable moderates in swing districts to longtime members in safe seats, already shrinking the party’s effective majority and handing Democrats a list of prime pickup opportunities before a single vote is even cast.