WASHINGTON – President Trump encouraged pro-life activists to get to the polls in November, using the passage of a 20-week abortion ban in Congress as an enticement.

He was speaking Tuesday night at the Susan B. Anthony List’s annual gala in Washington, becoming the first sitting president to address the anti-abortion group.

Trump pointed out how the House passed a 20-week abortion ban, but blamed Senate Democrats for killing the effort.

“The Democrats are doing everything within their power to block it, although some are actually on our side, but they are working overtime to block it,” Trump said. “So the story is ‘18 midterms, we need Republicans.”

The president suggested the math could be on the Republicans’ side, despite the historical tendency for the new president’s party to take a hit during the first set of midterm elections.

“We are nine votes away from passing the 20-week abortion bill in the Senate … Democratic senators are up for re-election in 10 states that I won by a lot,” Trump pointed out, suggesting that Democrats may be in for a “big, big surprise in seven months.”

“A big, beautiful surprise,” the president cooed.

Republicans are more likely to lose their grip on the House of Representatives and Trump addressed that threat too.

He said when Democratic candidates campaign they do so as moderates. But when they get to Washington they vote for the “radical Pelosi agenda down the line.”

“Can you imagine having Nancy Pelosi as the speaker of the House?” the president said of the former speaker of the House, who is now the House minority leader.

Later in the speech, he suggested Pelosi, a California Democrat, “came out in favor of MS-13,” after she criticized the president for referring to the gang members during a sanctuary city discussion at the White House as “animals.”

“Tough talk from a man separating innocent children from their parents,” Pelosi tweeted upon hearing Trump’s quote about MS-13 from the speech.

On the issue of abortion he hammered Democrats for being “far outside the American mainstream.”

“That’s why we’re putting in place a massive campaign for a midterm victory this November,” Trump said. “We need to elect more members of Congress who will protect life, support our military, secure our borders, grow our economy and continue making America great again.”

Doubling down on the point he added, “So your vote in 2018 is every bit as important as your vote in 2016,” reading from the teleprompter.

“Though I’m not sure I really believe that,” he told the crowd, having started his address by regaling them with his November 2016 election win. “Who the hell wrote that line?” he jokingly asked.