President Donald Trump’s chief of staff revealed a bold plan to transform the 2026 midterm elections into a referendum on Trump himself, hoping to defy historical patterns that typically doom the party in power during off-year contests.
Susie Wiles, the president’s chief of staff known as the “Ice Maiden,” disclosed the unconventional strategy during an interview with The Mom View.
She said Trump will campaign extensively throughout the next year even though she hasn’t informed him yet about the grueling schedule ahead.
“I haven’t broken it to him yet, but he’s going to campaign like it’s 2024!” Wiles said, explaining that the president will embark on a domestic travel blitz starting Tuesday with visits to Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
The strategy represents a complete reversal of traditional midterm campaign tactics, which typically involve localizing races and keeping federal officials away from competitive districts.
Instead, the White House plans to place Trump front and center across the country.
“Typically, in the midterms, it’s not about who’s sitting at the White House… you localize the election and you keep the federal officials out of it. We’re actually going to turn that on its head and put him on the ballot,” Wiles explained.
The Republican Party has demonstrated stronger performance when Trump appears on the ballot compared to elections without him.
In both 2016 and 2024, Trump led the GOP to control of the White House and both congressional chambers.
Even during his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, Trump’s ballot presence limited Democratic gains to minimal Senate control and just nine seats in the House.
By contrast, without Trump on the 2018 ballot, Democrats captured over 40 House seats, and they gained a Senate seat in 2022 despite predictions of a Republican wave.
Wiles aims to mobilize voters who typically skip off-year elections by ensuring Trump leads the ticket in 2026.
The entire House of Representatives faces election next year, while 35 Senate seats are open following JD Vance and Marco Rubio’s departures to join the Trump administration.
Republicans must defend 22 seats compared to the Democrats’ 13, with Maine and North Carolina considered particularly vulnerable to flipping.
Democrats need to flip four Republican seats to reclaim Senate control.
Recent electoral results have heightened concerns within the White House about maintaining congressional majorities.
Wiles pointed to last week’s Tennessee Congressional special election, where Republican Matt Van Epps defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn by just nine points in a district Trump carried by 22 points one year earlier.
“Because so many of those low-propensity voters are Trump voters. And we saw a week ago Tuesday what happens when he’s not on the ballot and not active,” Wiles said, confirming Trump will be placed on the ballot through extensive campaigning.
WATCH:
The president could leverage these rallies to build on recent polling improvements.
His approval rating climbed from 45 percent to 47 percent between Nov. 21 and Dec. 4, according to the most recent Daily Mail/J.L. Partners survey of 1,000 registered voters with a 3.1 percent margin of error.
The uptick coincides with price stabilization and record Thanksgiving holiday spending, despite ongoing concerns about affordability that Trump has labeled a “Democrat scam.” However, his disapproval rating remains elevated at 53 percent.
