Trump hones midterm campaign themes: Kavanaugh, impeachment, nicknames

WASHINGTON – Donald Trump is back in the place he loves best: the campaign trail.

The president is logging thousands of miles on Air Force One with the midterm elections approaching Nov. 6. He is fighting to prevent a Democratic takeover of Congress, which would derail much of his legislative agenda and open the door to multiple investigations of his presidency.

Reviving the raucous rallies that marked his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump is all but begging backers to vote in the congressional elections. He is hammering a message that combines a defense of his presidency with a warning to supporters: If "radical Democrats" get control of Congress, they will wipe out everything Trump is doing, from tax cuts to tough immigration laws.

The president also regularly brings up the messy confirmation battle of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, telling his supporters that if Democrats take control of Congress, they might try to impeach the high court's newest justice, or even Trump himself.

Democrats "are even talking about doing really bad things now to Justice Kavanaugh," Trump said during a recent rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa. "They were saying, 'We'll impeach!'"

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The president then added with a wink: "I have to go first, right? Don't I?"

While Democrats have made clear they will aggressively investigate Trump and his administration, few candidates mention potential impeachment on the campaign trail. 

But allies of Trump say they believe Democrats will ultimately try to push for impeachment if they win one or both houses of Congress. Republicans currently control both chambers of Congress.

In November, all of the seats in the House and one-third of the Senate are up for election.

During a western swing this past weekend, Trump told backers in Montana, Arizona and Nevada, that Democrats are "socialists" who want "open borders," and would allow in migrants like the ones in a caravan headed up from Central America and Mexico.

Wrapping up his indictment in a new campaign riff, Trump said in Elko, Nevada, that "this will be the election of Kavanaugh, the caravan, law and order, tax cuts and common sense."

Trump is expected to average three to four rallies a week in the final stretch before Election Day, with somewhere around half as many private fundraisers, officials said. By the time the election rolls around, the president is likely to have conducted more than 30 rallies and fundraisers over the last five weeks of the campaign, a number exceeding the mid-term activity of predecessors Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

Democrats say Trump can do all the rallies he wants but he is going up against momentum on their side that is being fueled by voter anger at the businessman-turned-politician and his Republican allies.

Describing Trump as an "anchor" on "swing district suburban Republicans," Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson said the rallies "have more to do with his staff finding screaming fans to please his ego then they do with helping anyone get elected."

But Trump allies and political analysts say the president's central aim is to rouse his core supporters, especially people who could well stay home because presidential elections are not on the ballot.

"There are quite a few base Trump voters who are not particularly excited about congressional Republicans," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Democrats say Trump and the Kavanaugh issue are also motivating anti-Trump voters. Many Democratic voters were frustrated to see Kavanaugh confirmed to the Supreme Court, despite allegations from Christine Blasey Ford that he sexually assaulted her when they were both in high school. Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegations.

"I think it's more likely to be a plus for the Democrats," said Lawrence Lessig, professor at Harvard Law School, former Democratic presidential candidate, and founder of the organization EqualCitizens.US. "Their anger is more visceral."

David Cohen, professor of political science at Akron University, said all presidents face challenges when it comes to turning out their voters in midterm elections. The challenge is acute for Trump, because so much of the election revolves around his actions in office.

"The congressional elections are a referendum on the president's leadership," Cohen said.

Trump allies certainly see it that way and believe the future of their self-proclaimed "revolution" in American government is at stake in the congressional elections. They also said impeachment is a given if Democrats win control of the House and/or Senate.

Steve Bannon, chief executive of Trump's campaign in 2016 and former White House chief strategist, said Republicans are responding to the Kavanaugh argument because "they understand that every day will be an investigation" if the Democrats take control of the House and Senate or both.

"The Democrats are bound and determined to stop Trump from getting anything done," Bannon said.

On the campaign trail, Trump lambastes activists who spent weeks on Capitol Hill protesting Kavanaugh's confirmation, calling them "extremists" and "mobs." He has described Democrats as "the party of crime" and accused them of seeking to impose "socialism" on the American economy.

"In their lust for power, the Democrats have become totally unhinged," Trump told supporters in Council Bluffs. "They've gone – they've gone crazy."

Trump also uses long-running rhetorical devices during his new congressional rallies, including the use of dismissive nicknames for critics. Potential 2020 Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren, who claims Native American ancestry, is mocked as "Pocahontas," while Obama's vice president is referred to as "Sleepy Joe Biden."

Democrats said most voters will ignore the president's attacks on Democrats. "While voters want accountability and oversight, Republicans in Congress are nothing more than a bunch of 'yes' men for the president," Ferguson said.

Since Oct. 1, Trump has held 11 campaign rallies and hosted at least nine roundtables and receptions for high-end Republican donors. That gives him a total of 20 late-campaign political events – so far.

Trump had another roundtable and rally scheduled Monday night in Houston, Texas. 

Aides are talking about three to four rallies a week before Election Day, meaning Trump could wind up doing more than 30 events in the last five weeks of the midterms.

In 2002, Bush held 28 campaign-related events – including congressional hits, governors' races, and party fundraisers – between Oct. 1 and Election Day, according to data compiled by Mark Knoller of CBS News, who keeps meticulous records on presidential activity.

Obama, in his first midterm election in 2010, held 24 campaign-related events.

At rallies, Trump introduces the Republican candidates he is campaigning for and gives them time to speak to the crowd. But he devotes much of his own speeches to a discussion of his record, with frequent mentions of Democrats such as Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren who are potential White House contenders in 2020. 

"How do you beat us in 2020?" he said in Council Bluffs.

First, however, there are the congressional elections. Some Democrats said Trump spends more time talking about himself than local candidates and that won't help their chances.

Democratic consultant Lis Smith said Trump is "clearly playing to his base, but it's questionable how much he's actually helping the candidates he's campaigning for – especially when he doesn't even bother to mention their names."

Trump is never more comfortable than when he is at the lectern  on stage, and aides said he is looking forward to the next three weeks.

So is Trump.

"The crowds at my Rallies are far bigger than they have ever been before, including the 2016 election," Trump tweeted recently. "Never an empty seat in these large venues, many thousands of people watching screens outside. Enthusiasm & Spirit is through the roof. SOMETHING BIG IS HAPPENING - WATCH!"