President Trump to campaign for Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi runoff

David Jackson | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – In his first set of political rallies since Democrats flipped the House, President Donald Trump will travel to Mississippi on Nov. 26 to stump for Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in her runoff against Democrat Mike Espy.

Trump plans to campaign at rallies in Tupelo and Biloxi for Hyde-Smith. The runoff will take place Nov. 27.

".@cindyhydesmith loves Mississippi and our Great U.S.A.," Trump tweeted.

Trump has conducted more than 40 such rallies over the course of this election year. Despite his stepped-up pace in October and November, the Republicans lost control of the House after the midterms, though they kept their majority in the Senate.

Hyde-Smith is dealing with fallout from a comment she made at a campaign stop in Tupelo on Nov. 2. While praising a longtime friend, she said, "I would fight a circular saw for him. If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row."

The "hanging" comment quickly went viral, with critics saying it conjured up images of lynchings and Mississippi's racist past. Her opponent, Espy, is African-American.

Democrats have also accused Hyde-Smith of supporting voter suppression, citing a video in which she can be heard saying that "maybe we want to make it just a little more difficult" for some people to vote, and "so I think that's a great idea."

In a statement, Hyde-Smith spokeswoman Melissa Scallan said, "Obviously Sen. Hyde-Smith was making a joke and clearly the video was selectively edited."

The Hyde-Smith campaign later tweeted: "It's ok to still have a sense of humor in America isn't it?"