President Donald Trump warned supporters at an Ohio rally that if Democrats seize control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, he “will be the last Republican president.”
Trump took the stage in Youngstown on Monday night to campaign for Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who is locked in a tight race against Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown. The president was also on hand to rally support for Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy.
During his speech, Trump laid out a grim picture of what he said the country could face if Democrats score big wins in November’s midterm elections.
“They want to end the Senate,” he said. “They want to basically destroy our country. And that’s what they want to do. And if they get in, they will do that. They’ll be able to do that.”
The president then argued that if Democrats were to win back the White House in 2028 while also holding Congress, Republicans would never again occupy the Oval Office.
“You know, if they get in and you have a bad presidential election in the next, because we have some very good people. But if you had a bad presidential or one of these lunatics got in, you will, look at me right now,” Trump told the crowd.
“And you will say, ‘He’s going to be the last Republican president in the history of our country.’ I will be. I will be. I will be the last Republican president,” he continued.
Trump laid out how he believes Democrats would cement their power.
“Because they will add about 12 more electoral votes. They’ll add four more senators. They’ll add 10 more congresspeople, approximately,” he said. “They’re gonna rig the Supreme Court through just a lot of people. They want to put a lot of people.”
The president went on to say Democrats would inflate the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to 23.
Trump also renewed his call to eliminate the Senate filibuster so that Republicans can pass the SAVE Act. The legislation cleared the House but lacks the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate. The bill would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and photo identification when casting a ballot.
“And we’ll never lose an election again because we’ll have really good safeguards,” Trump said. “You’ll have voter ID, you’ll have proof of citizenship. Everything that you want. That will be legitimate. Because they can’t win an election without cheating.”
The president’s remarks underscored the high stakes he sees in the upcoming midterms, with control of Congress on the line and Republicans fighting to defend key seats like Husted’s in Ohio.
At another point during the rally, Trump mocked a heckler who had been assaulted in the crowd.
He also heaped praise on Husted, calling the senator a great athlete. In a moment that drew attention, Trump admitted how he came to that conclusion, telling the audience, “I looked at his ass.”
