President Trump made his final pitch to voters on Election Day, repeating his litany of perceived accomplishments on issues like immigration enforcement and the economy, and declaring that “we have to keep America great.”
As voters went to the polls, many with affordability issues top-of-mind, Mr. Trump continued to downplay cost-of-living concerns. Fifty-three percent of likely voters considered the economy as “poor” in the recent New York Times/Siena poll — the worst rating since July 2022.
“Inflation is solved,” Mr. Trump asserted in a morning call to the “Fox & Friends” television show on Tuesday, even though consumer prices have surged since Mr. Trump took office, rising 3.7 percent in September from a year earlier, and inflation has accelerated over high energy costs stemming from the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Mr. Trump urged voters to understand that, based on compliments from autocratic world leaders he considers allies, the United States “is the hottest country in the world.”
“We are great now. We were terrible two years ago, we were a laughingstock all over the world,” he said. “The leaders of other countries didn’t even take us seriously.”
Trump also used his Election Day message to address unpopular and controversial foreign policy decisions, including the war in Iran and American support for Israel.
He said that the United States would no longer send $4 billion per year to Israel, citing an agreement he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel made that the aid was no longer needed. Mr. Trump said the move was Mr. Netanyahu’s idea, because he “understands this is one point of contention.” Mr. Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Israel is a thriving country, they don’t need it,” Mr. Trump said. “If they did need it, I would say keep going.”
Trump added that the aid was also a “bad talking point” for political opponents, specifically citing Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democrat running a close Senate race in Michigan who has been unvarnished in his criticism of American support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Trump also continued to downplay the war in Iran, which sent gas and other prices surging ahead of the midterms, calling the strikes the U.S. carried out in Iran on Monday, “a minor attack.” “We hit it last night, very nicely,” he said. “Not a big war.”
Mr. Trump has appeared resigned to the idea that Republicans could lose key races on the trail. He used a speech on Monday to talk about his renovation of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and lamented that it is not uncommon for a president’s party to suffer losses in midterm elections, adding that “we gave this a very strong shot.”
In an interview published by the New York Post on Monday, Mr. Trump said he had a plan should his party lose one or both chambers of Congress.
“If that happens, I guess I’ll become ‘Mr. Veto,’” he said. “And then at some point we’ll probably make deals.”
On Tuesday morning, Mr. Trump appeared more optimistic, citing the enthusiasm he saw at his rallies in mostly deep red states on his 30-day barnstorm of the country. “I think the results are going to be better than you think,” he said.
Mr. Trump will host an election night “viewing reception” in the East Wing of the White House.
Natan Odenheimer contributed reporting.
The post Trump Makes Last Pitch to Voters on Election Day appeared first on New York Times.
