President Trump on Friday warned the largest annual gathering of conservatives that Republicans could get “clobbered” in the upcoming midterms if his supporters lack the same enthusiasm they showed during the 2016 election.
“I know that whoever wins the presidency has a disadvantage for whatever reason in the midterms,” Trump told the crowd. “Historically, if you win the presidency, you don’t do well two years later. And we can’t let that happen.”
The president attributed traditional losses for the party in power to low voter turnout and fatigue among those who fought so hard to carry Republicans to victory in 2016.
“I’ve finally figured it out. What happens is you fight so hard to win the presidency, you fight, fight, fight … and now you’ve got to go and fight again, but you just won,” Trump said. “Nobody has that same drive, so you end up not doing that well because the other side is crazed.”
He continued, “So the great enthusiasm – you’re sitting back, you’re watching television, [thinking] ‘Maybe I don’t have to vote today.’ And then we get clobbered.”
“We get clobbered in ’18 and we can’t let that happen,” Trump told the crowd. “Only because we’re so happy. We’ve passed so many things.”
His comments come on the heels of several polls that have shown Democrats with a slight advantage heading into the November elections. However, Trump said his opponents’ lead is likely to diminish in the coming months as the GOP-passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act continues to grow in popularity.
“[Democrats] will take away those massive tax cuts, and they will take away your Second Amendment,” he said, urging the crowd to vote for Republicans so his administration can continue to advance its agenda.
“The fact is, we need Republicans to vote. Because now what we have to do in order to get a vote to fix our military, we have to give [Democrats] a hundred billion dollars in stuff that most people in this room, including me, don’t want in many cases,” he said. “That’s why you have to get out and you have to fight for 2018. You have to do it.”
