Ossoff responded sharply to the president's remarks. "This is a losing strategy from a failing president, to insult and threaten voters while he comes to town and reminds them that he made everything more expensive," he told the AP.
In North Carolina, Trump focused on a particularly sensitive issue: compensation for victims of contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. A law signed in 2022 by then-President Joe Biden allowed those with health problems linked to the contamination to file claims for compensation. At a rally in Greenville, Trump announced that a billion dollars in settlements had already been transferred to veterans and their families, and that he would direct the Justice Department to settle all remaining legitimate claims quickly.
But he added a condition: "If we win the House and the Senate." "So if we don't win, no money," he said. "If we do win, you get it." When asked about the remarks at the White House, Trump said that "if we're not there, someone else will have to settle" the Camp Lejeune claims, and that he "can't speak for another administration."
Jill Stein Dillgard, whose father and other relatives served at Camp Lejeune and were later diagnosed with cancer and other health problems, called the president's remarks "patently unacceptable." "It made me feel physically ill, and it infuriated me," said Stein Dillgard, who helps represent other victims and their families. "You're playing politics and trying to bribe for a vote. So many hundreds of thousands have already lost their lives, and hundreds of thousands are suffering, and many have been given a death sentence."
In Kansas, at a rally meant to boost Republican Senator Roger Marshall, Trump mentioned that he had granted a temporary waiver allowing year-round sales of E15, a fuel containing ethanol that is typically restricted in summer. "With Roger Marshall in the Senate, we'll make E15 year-round permanent," he said at the rally in Park City. "But if Adam Hamilton is elected, I'm not doing it. That's it. I'm only doing it for him."
Hamilton's campaign did not attack Trump directly, but said: "Kansans are tired of our broken politics, which treats public service as if it's all about rival teams." Campaign spokesman Tyson Brody added: "Roger Marshall has been in Congress for ten years and has never passed year-round E15. When Adam is senator, he'll be happy to work with anyone, including President Trump, to finally get this done and other priorities important to Kansas."
In Ohio, at a rally in Vandalia, Trump said Republican officials in the state are pressing him on disaster relief, adding: "When you're president, you have a lot of power over states." Of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, he said: "If Amy Acton is elected, I don't know anything about her. She'll never call me. I probably won't ever work the same way. It's just not possible. It's human nature. But I probably won't help her."
Acton's campaign spokeswoman, Addie Bullock, said the candidate "is committed to working with anyone, Democrat or Republican, to improve the lives of working Ohioans." The White House responded that Trump is committed to maintaining a Republican majority in Congress so he can "continue to advance his winning agenda, full of common sense." White House spokesman Davis Ingle cited the president's policies on taxes, prescription drugs, immigration and other issues, adding: "Democrats have made clear they have no agenda to improve Americans' lives."
According to the Associated Press, the president's remarks have injected politics into processes that have remained apolitical in the past, such as disaster relief distribution and veterans' benefits. The statements are part of a broader strategy designed to make the elections about himself and to mobilize conservative voters.
