VANDALIA, Ohio — President Donald Trump used a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday to mix profane attacks on Democrats with promises of federal assistance if Republicans win next month’s midterms — and a warning that he would be less willing to help the state if Democrats prevail.
“Just get out and vote,” Trump told the crowd at a rally for Republican candidates, including U.S. Senator Jon Husted and Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. “If you do that, we’re going to win, and we’re going to win big, and we’re going to shove it up their ass.”
Trump said Ohio’s Republican elected officials frequently call him seeking money for the state, adding that he would be less inclined to accommodate Democrats if they win key races. Referring to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, he said: “But I’m not going to help her.”
Husted faces former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in one of eight U.S. Senate races rated competitive, while Ramaswamy is contesting the governor’s race against Acton. Polls have suggested Democrats could make gains in the November 3 midterms, which will decide control of the narrowly divided House of Representatives and Senate — but Trump predicted Republicans would outperform expectations.
“I think we’re going to have a big surprise because they don’t know what’s happening,” he told the crowd.
Trump repeatedly attacked Democrats during the speech, at one point calling them “dumb son of a bitches,” while arguing that maintaining Republican control would give Ohio officials a direct line to his administration and make it easier for the state to secure federal help.
Husted used the rally to attack Brown directly. “He’s been in office for 50 years — can you name one thing that he has done for you?” Husted said.
A spokesperson for Brown’s campaign hit back, criticizing Husted for backing Trump’s Iran policy and supporting “sweetheart tax deals” that lured data centers to Ohio. “Jon Husted puts corporations and billionaires first every time, and we all pay for it,” Brown spokesperson Lauren Chou said in an email to Reuters.
Trump won more than 55% of the Ohio vote in the 2024 presidential election, but his approval ratings have sunk in recent months as higher prices persist for gasoline and other staples amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
