White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said Monday that President Donald Trump will play a far more active role on the campaign trail ahead of next year’s midterm elections—signaling a strategic shift designed to energize the GOP base and capitalize on Trump’s unique voter appeal.
In an interview with The Mom View, Wiles emphasized that Republicans intend to harness the enthusiasm Trump generates among grassroots conservatives, particularly low-propensity voters who often turn out only when the president is directly involved.
“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 because so many of those low propensity voters are Trump voters,” Wiles said.
Her comments underscore a growing recognition within the GOP that Trump’s presence remains the party’s strongest electoral asset. While midterms traditionally revolve around local issues, Republicans are betting that nationalizing the races around Trump’s leadership—and his policy agenda—will boost turnout in key battleground states.
Wiles noted recent election results as evidence of what happens when the president is not visibly engaged.
“We saw a week ago Tuesday what happens when he’s not on the ballot and not active,” she said, referencing GOP underperformances in off-year contests in Virginia, New Jersey, and a special election in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District. Despite strong fundamentals in these states, Republican turnout lagged noticeably without Trump’s direct involvement.
“I haven’t quite broken it to him yet, but he’s going to campaign like it’s 2024 again,” she added with a laugh—suggesting that the president’s relentless campaign style, which galvanized millions of new Republican voters in both 2016 and 2024, will be making a return.
So far in his presidency, Trump has spent less time on the campaign trail than in previous cycles, focusing instead on high-stakes foreign policy initiatives and diplomatic travel. But that dynamic may shift as early as Tuesday, when he heads to Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state, to highlight the administration’s efforts to lower costs for American families—a top priority for voters and a central theme in Trump’s economic messaging.
Republicans hope that a more active presidential schedule will help counteract recent Democratic gains and re-energize the coalition that powered Trump to victory. With control of Congress on the line, the party is preparing for a midterm season unlike any in recent memory—one in which the sitting president will again be front and center.
