President Donald Trump joked that supporters would applaud “the stupidest things” during a Tennessee rally on Saturday, underscoring his confidence in his grip on the GOP base even as polls suggest some of his 2024 voters want Republican candidates to distance themselves from him ahead of November's midterms. Trump repeatedly cast himself as the driving force behind Republican success and urged supporters to turn out for the midterms at a campaign rally for Tennessee Republicans Senator Bill Hagerty and gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn. I really am," Trump told the Clarksville crowd.
Trump's comments come as new polling points to potential enthusiasm challenges for Republicans despite Trump's continued dominance within the party. A POLITICO/PF Global poll published Thursday found that 26 percent of voters who backed Trump in 2024 believe Republican candidates should break with the president in order to win in November. Separately, a /Ipsos poll conducted between September 30 and October 5 found that just 30 percent of Trump's 2024 voters described themselves as "very enthusiastic" about voting in this year's midterm elections, compared with 48 percent of voters who backed former Vice President Kamala Harris.
In addition, a Pew Research Center poll released October 8 found that Trump’s approval among voters who backed him in 2024 had fallen to 67 percent, down from 75 percent in July, 83 percent at the beginning of 2026 and 95 percent early in his second term. Thirty-one percent of his 2024 voters now disapprove of his job performance. Republican strategist Charlie Gerow told Newsweek this week that some of the findings raised the stakes for the party's turnout efforts, while predicting the enthusiasm gap could narrow as Republicans focus on the prospect of Democrats gaining power.
"The enthusiasm has to be ginned up among Republicans because turnout is what's going to determine the outcome of these midterm elections," Gerow said. The polling nevertheless points to erosion rather than a wholesale break with Trump. A series of summer surveys found his approval among Republicans remained around 80 percent or higher, including 86 percent in an August Emerson poll, 80 percent in an Economist/YouGov survey and 80 percent in a /Ipsos poll conducted in late July and early August.
The latest Pew Research Center survey found 77 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents remained confident in his decision-making on immigration, a hallmark issue of his 2024 campaign. Trump dismissed suggestions that he has become a political liability for Republican candidates, using part of his Tennessee speech to rebut media commentary he said he had seen while traveling aboard Air Force One. Referencing television analysts discussing about battleground states, Trump added: "The guy said, 'Well, I don't know.
The Republicans are going to lose because Trump is so unpopular.' I'm very popular." He later argued that Republican candidates benefit from their association with him. "You'll win because I am popular," Trump said. We want low taxes." The president also touted the strong reception he receives at rallies, telling supporters that appearing before crowds of loyal backers makes campaigning easier.
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