Trump Has No Midterm Message

Playbook: “The White House is riding a high this week after President Donald Trump‘s retribution campaign in Indiana gave red-state lawmakers a bloody reminder of his iron grip on the party. But Republicans are publicly and privately fretting about their case for keeping power in November.”

“That’s raising questions like: Has traditional battleground barnstorming by the president been replaced by backroom arm-twisting for more favorable maps?”

“For as much as Trump appears focused at times on keeping the House and fending off a third impeachment and wave of subpoenas, it’s less clear how he plans to win that case outright at the ballot box. While he’s made a handful of trips to get in front of voters, including to Las Vegas last month to play up his ‘no tax on tips’ policy, such trips appear to have fallen off the schedule as the president’s attention shifts elsewhere.”