Exclusive: Donald Trump, buoyed by the campaign, looks ahead to a post-midterm presidency

Show Caption Hide Caption Donald Trump calls himself a nationalist as he stumps for Ted Cruz President Donald Trump stumps for former foe Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas, calling himself a nationalist as he ramps up immigration rhetoric (Oct. 22)

HOUSTON – President Donald Trump loves a rally.

The bigger the crowds, the more he believes his increased presence on the campaign trail in recent weeks is generating "spirit" and brightening Republican prospects in what many predict will be a rough midterm election for the GOP.

As he flew to Houston on Monday for a rally to support Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, he proudly showed USA TODAY a livestream on an aide’s smartphone picturing thousands of supporters winding their way into the Toyota Center, home of Houston Rockets.

“I have the same feeling that I had in 2016,” he said. “I think we’re going to do well.”

Trump has repeatedly expressed optimism that Republicans would not only hold their majority in the Senate but perhaps expand it – in large part because of his events in big venues in battleground states including Montana, Nevada, North Dakota and Indiana. By Election Day, he likely will have held more than 30 rallies and fundraisers in the final five weeks of the campaign, a number exceeding the midterm activity of predecessors Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

But as he embarks on nearly nonstop campaigning, Trump is also looking ahead to the possibility of having to reckon with Democratic control of at least one chamber of Congress – an outcome that will almost certainly stall his legislative agenda and could also put his very presidency at risk.

Polls point to at least a dozen highly competitive Senate races, and nonpartisan political prognosticators note that most presidents lose at least a few House seats in their first midterm. But Trump has always publicly scoffed at polls and predictions, relying instead on his own brand of political intuition.

Is the midterm election a referendum on his presidency?

“No, but I think I’m helping,” he replied in an interview.

President Ronald Reagan, whom he said he admires, couldn’t have drawn such enormous crowds, he said, not to mention Democrat Hillary Clinton, whom he disparaged. “She couldn't fill up a conference room in a hotel,” he said.

'Very good chance' to keep both chambers

In a wide-ranging interview as his plane descended into Houston, the president touched on immigration, the economy and his thoughts on how Saudi Arabia has handled the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. All those issues could play into the midterms, but none may carry as much political weight as how voters feel about the president himself.

The president's approval rating has been underwater in every poll since August, though he remains popular with Republicans despite controversies and turnover that have beset his White House. And while he expresses confidence in the GOP's chances, he has also had to look to the possibility of a divided Congress.

At stake in this Election is whether we continue the extraordinary prosperity we have achieved - or whether we let the Radical Democrat Mob take a giant wrecking ball to our Country and our Economy! #JobsNotMobs pic.twitter.com/POhRivI1BZ — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2018

Trump was less bullish on the House than the Senate, though he said there was “a very good chance” Republicans might maintain control of both. “The map” wasn’t as friendly in the House, he said, adding that whichever party won a majority was likely to have only a narrow one – and that he could do business with a House controlled by Democrats.

If Democrats capture control of the House in November, it would fundamentally change the political landscape. Democratic leaders have sought to downplay talk of launching an impeachment, but top-ranking Democrats have indicated they would take a more aggressive stance investigating the White House.

Trump acknowledged that a possible Democratic majority might try to impeach him. But he warned that the effort could rebound against them politically, as it did for Republicans who impeached President Clinton in 1998.

A more aggressive posture would almost certainly stall Trump's attempts to advance a legislative agenda – on immigration, his proposed border wall or new middle-class tax cuts.

One possible area of agreement with Democrats, Trump said: an infrastructure bill. He said he would be willing to negotiate a plan for publicly funded infrastructure projects, not the public-private combination that was a point of controversy with Democrats in the administration’s previous infrastructure plan. That idea died over the course of his first year in office, failing to capture much attention from either party.

“If the Democrats get in, I think I will be able to work with them,” he said. “They want infrastructure. So do I.”

Little talk of looking ahead

Many other areas of Trump's post-election presidency remained murky.

He declined to discuss whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would be leaving the administration after the elections. Many GOP allies of the president have predicted one or both will be gone after votes are counted, bringing to a close the often publicly awkward relationship Trump has had with his top Justice Department appointees.

Another factor that could have significant consequences for the second half of Trump's first term: the investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election. Trump said he had no idea what special counsel Robert Mueller would do next in his investigation. “All I can tell you is I did nothing wrong,” he said.

But for now there is little talk of or time for looking ahead. Working with Democrats doesn't play well to an audience of thousands attending a Trump rally, and it doesn't energize voters two weeks from an election.

The Houston arena, which has a capacity of just over 18,000, was jammed as Trump started to speak on Monday, although some began to leave before he finished. Trump’s remarks over one hour and 19 minutes brought boos at the mention of Democrats, jeers when he derided the “fake-news media” and chants of “Build that wall!”

“If you don’t want to be saying ‘Speaker Nancy Pelosi’ for the next two years,” Trump declared, “then you need to go out and vote for these tremendous Republican lawmakers.”

More: Trump hones midterm campaign themes: Kavanaugh, impeachment, nicknames

Contributing: John Fritze