Trump vs. the Midterms - National Logistics Post

Here we go again.

A look back at history and the pattern is clear. A mere two years after winning the latest presidential election, the president in question finds himself getting the short end of the midterm election stick.

Exceptions? Yes.

Most memorably in the history books was John F. Kennedy’s narrow win over Richard Nixon in 1960. In 1962, every indication was that JFK was set not to do well in the midterms. In fact, his 1960 opponent, Nixon, appeared to be on his way to election as Governor of California.

And then.

And then the Russians were caught installing nuclear missiles in Cuba, a mere 90 miles from the U.S. Suffice to say, a crisis erupted. A big one.

JFK suddenly appears on America’s television sets to announce he was imposing a quarantine — a blockade — on the island. He warned that any “offensive weapons and associated matériel” the Russian leader — Nikita Khrushchev — attempted to deliver to Cuba would be seized by the U.S. military. Khrushchev wisely retreated, telling Kennedy that work on the missile sites would be halted, and the missiles already installed would be dismantled and returned to the Soviet Union. The whole episode produced political wins for Democrat candidates across the country.

Notably, JFK’s 1960 presidential opponent Nixon wound up losing what many observers thought was a sure-thing win as governor of California. Amusingly, a haggard Nixon held a press conference the morning after the election and angrily proclaimed his exit from politics, telling the press they “won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.” Needless to say, history still had plans for Nixon, and six years later he was elected president.

On another occasion, 1966 was the midterm election that followed Democrat Lyndon Johnson’s landslide 1964 election to the White House. In a decisive victory, reversing LBJ’s 1964 gains thanks in part to Johnson’s increasing involvement in the Vietnam War, the GOP won 47 House seats and 3 Senate seats.

Notably, two of the winners with considerable futures ahead of them were actor Ronald Reagan and oilman George H.W. Bush. Reagan was elected governor of California, and Bush was elected a Congressman from Texas. Needless to say, those two election winners would be making a substantial historical mark down the road.

All of which is to say, who among the winners in the 2026 midterms are set to become future GOP stars — future presidents?

It is, at this point at the beginning of October 2026, too soon to say. But safe to say that among the winners on midterm election night 2026 could well be a brand new GOP star and a future president.

And as always, the midterms can easily produce this, that, or another political headache for President Trump.

President Trump, no slouch in understanding the political lay of the land, is already well at work campaigning for GOP candidates across the country. USA Today headlines the story this way: “Trump plans a midterm travel blitz — including to ruby-red Alaska.”

The story reported:

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he’s launching an aggressive travel blitz to battleground districts and states in the final month of the midterm election as he looks to energize Republicans and fend off a blue wave.

Among his stops will be Alaska ‒ a historically red state that Trump carried by 13 percentage points in the 2024 election ‒ as the president tries to boost Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is in a close race with Democratic challenger Mary Peltola, a former Alaska congresswoman.

Trump detailed his plans at a Rose Garden dinner on Sept. 2 featuring about three dozen House Republicans, telling them, “I’ll be with you 100 percent. We’re going to do something like I did for myself in the last presidential election. Four months out, I said, ‘OK, no days off.’”

So, there it is from now until Election Day per the president himself: “OK, no days off.”

What does this mean? Simply put, it means that the rest of October and the November days ahead will fill America’s television screens and other media with the latest on Trump versus the midterms.

It is, at this early October date, too soon to predict the results. Which, of course, will make for great television.

So. Get the popcorn and settle in. The 2026 election season has officially begun. And the stage is being set for 2028.

READ MORE from Jeffrey Lord:

Democrats Lust for Violence

Trump, Nixon, and Their China Legacy

The President Gets It