Trump Links Aid for States to Election Results

President Donald Trump told supporters in Perry, Georgia, last week that his administration would be far less likely to help states if midterm elections put Democrats in power. "There's a big difference between that and Pee-wee Herman calling," Trump said of Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, acting out a call in which he would tell the senator, "I don't give a damn what he wants." Trump contrasted that with Republican Senate candidate Mike Collins, who he said can call him any time for help for Georgia.

Remarks at rallies in North Carolina, Ohio and Kansas this month followed the same pattern. Trump has paired those statements with announcements of new semiconductor investments, a submarine repair center and fewer limits on a certain type of diesel. At a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, earlier this month, Trump said $1 billion in cash settlements had been delivered to veterans and family members affected by contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, and that he would direct the Justice Department to settle remaining legitimate claims "if we win the House and the Senate." "So, if we don't win, there's no money," Trump said. "If we do win, you're getting it."

A 2022 veterans law signed by then-President Joe Biden allows those facing health conditions linked to the Camp Lejeune water to file for compensation. Trump said at the White House afterward that if his party is not in power, "somebody else is going to have to settle" the claims and that he "can't speak for another administration," though his own Justice Department handles the claims. At a September rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, Trump said the state was still waiting on Hurricane Helene recovery money and added, "Now, if Michael loses, I'm not sending it," before saying he was kidding. His handpicked Senate candidate, Michael Whatley, is running against Democrat Roy Cooper, a former governor. Cooper called the Camp Lejeune remarks "insulting and frustrating."

Jill Steen Dilgard, whose father and other relatives served at Camp Lejeune and were later diagnosed with cancer and other health issues, said conditioning care for those who served on midterm results was "totally unacceptable." "It made me physically sick, and it infuriated me," she said. "You're playing politics and trying to bribe for a vote."

In Park City, Kansas, Trump tied an ethanol waiver to the Senate race there. He granted a temporary waiver allowing year-round sales of E15, an ethanol-blended gasoline usually restricted to summer months. "With Roger Marshall in the Senate, we will make year-round E15 permanent," Trump said. "But if Adam Hamilton is in, I'm not doing it. That's it. I'm only doing it for him." Legislation in Congress would also allow permanent year-round sales, though the Environmental Protection Agency can issue temporary waivers at an administration's discretion. Hamilton campaign spokesman Tyson Brody said, "Roger Marshall has been in Congress for 10 years and never passed year-round E15."

In Vandalia, Ohio, this month, Trump noted that Republican officeholders there pushed him on disaster relief and said that "when you are president, you have a lot of power over states." He said of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, "She's never gonna call me. I'm never probably gonna work the same way. You just can't. It's just human nature. But I'm not gonna help her probably." Acton spokesperson Addie Bullock said the candidate is "committed to working with anyone, Democrat or Republican, to make life better for working Ohioans."

Ossoff said in response to the Perry rally comments that "it's a losing strategy for the failed president to insult and threaten voters while he's in town reminding them he made everything more expensive." White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the president is committed to keeping a Republican majority in Congress so "he can continue to deliver on his winning, commonsense agenda." Ingle cited policies on taxes, prescription drugs and immigration, and said, "Democrats have made it clear that they have no agenda to improve the lives of the American people." At the Perry rally, Trump said of such requests, "having people that you like call you as opposed to people that you can't stand" makes a big difference.