Trump Plays it Safe With Panic Tour Through Red America

Alex Wong/Getty Images Donald Trump was spending Wednesday in Arizona and Montana as he ramped up his campaign tour with the clock ticking down to Election Day.

But a closer look at the president’s travel schedule reveals a rally path that largely plays it safe in MAGA country.

So far, he has also avoided the biggest battleground districts where House candidates would be forced to choose whether to show up for the increasingly unpopular 80-year-old president as Republicans’ odds of holding their majority have plummeted.

Republican strategist Kevin Madden said that with just three weeks to go before the election, Trump’s strategy, based on where he has been heading, would qualify as “defensive.” “Judging by the president’s schedule, there is a strong focus on shoring up the base in Republican strongholds,” he observed.

Trump kicked off his final midterm sprint with a rally in Durant, Oklahoma, a district he won by more than 55 points less than two years ago.

He followed that with a rally in Mobile, Alabama, a district he won by 36 points.

Of the fifteen rallies the president has attended or announced to date, all but one were in districts he won in 2024, and he won all but one by double digits.

His average margin of victory in the districts he’s gone to or will visit, according to the upcoming schedule, was more than 25 points.

The only state and district he’s visited for a rally so far that he didn’t win in 2024 was Syracuse, New York, a district he lost by nearly seven points.

It’s currently considered a “Solid Democrat” seat by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report .

Among the districts he has visited or will visit that he did win in 2024, nine of his stops are in districts rated “Solid Republican,” two were in districts rated “Likely Republican,” and just two are in districts rated “Lean Republican.” His schedule includes no stops in “Toss-Up” House districts.

Among the most competitive places he’s been so far is his rally on Wednesday in Kalispell, Montana.

While Trump won that district by more than 11 points less than two years ago, GOP Sen.

Tim Sheehy didn’t win the district when he won statewide.