MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — President Donald Trump rallied supporters in deep red Alabama Friday, returning to the place where he drew his first mega crowd, but a state that is hardly considered a top midterm battleground.
With just weeks to go before elections that will determine control of Congress, Trump urged his supporters to back Republicans including Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is running for Alabama governor, and state Rep. Rhett Marques, who is seeking to flip Alabama’s newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District.
Trump’s decision to spend so much time in deep red states that have garnered relatively little attention during the critical final stretch underscores his party's uphill climb and the electorate's broad disapproval of his performance as president. The event at the University of South Alabama also gave Trump the chance to be surrounded by some of his most loyal supporters as he confronts dismal poll numbers and growing pessimism from his party about their chances of holding onto the House and Senate in November.
“I’m here really because, you know, sometimes, even though you don’t have to come here, you gotta pay respect to the people that have loved you right from the beginning,” he told the crowd a day after visiting Oklahoma.
And he announced that he would be returning to Alabama yet again next Saturday for the college football game between the Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide.
A nostalgic venue
Trump held his first mega-rally in Mobile more than a decade ago, drawing what some estimated to be 30,000 people to a college football stadium. The huge crowd made clear that Trump was more than a celebrity candidate and had the potential to make waves in the 2016 primary.
“I don’t know if you know, it sort of all began here,” Trump said after taking the stage. “We packed the stadium, and the rest is history.”
On Friday, supporters began lining up early on a hot, humid day for the chance to hear the president speak.
They included Patrick Burch, 27, who drove from Huntsville, Alabama and said concerns about the rising cost of living didn't bother him.
“The way I see it, at the end of the day, if I gotta pay a little more, a couple dollars extra here and there in order for my kids to be safe in the future and to make sure Iran isn’t nuclear or anything like that, then I’m ok with that,” he said.
“He’s Trump. He’s doing what he wants to. We don’t dictate or hold him accountable, even if something does screw up,” said Bikers for Trump’s R.C. “Casper” Pittman, 73, from Milton, Florida. “Love my president. Been with him ever since he walked down the steps. And there ain’t no reason to give up on him now.”
Scott Carpenter, 64, from nearby Citronelle, said he wasn't affected by rising fuel prices because he doesn't drive much these days, but record-high diesel prices were hitting some friends hard.
“They don’t like it,” he said. “They’re very upset. They love Donald Trump. They just want the diesel price to come down.” As for the rally, he said: “For him to come here, he had to be a little nervous. Or some of the other places really didn’t want him to come.”
The rally also drew protesters, including Elijah Splitt, 22, a graduate student at the school who said he was a member of the Revolutionary Party for Socialism and Liberation.
“We have a bunch of students who are very upset, who are very agitated, who are angry that the university administration would allow the Republicans to hold their midterm rally here and to also invite the president of the United States,” he said, calling the rally “a last-ditch effort” by Trump to “boost morale amongst Republican voters.”
Alabama is friendly turf as voters have soured on Trump
Trump is planning an aggressive travel schedule between now and November, with trips to the most competitive battlegrounds including Ohio and Texas. He has repeatedly asked his supporters to pretend that he is on the ballot this year.
While Trump maintains a loyal base of supporters, he has become increasingly toxic. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research this week found that only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling his job as president. And when it comes to the economy, most blame him for rising prices.
Trump, however, has repeatedly dismissed concerns about high costs and gas prices as his unpopular war in Iran drags on.
Friday night's rally offered Republicans the optics of a large, cheering crowd as they try to build enthusiasm. Speakers included Tuberville, who is running against former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, and Republican Rep. Barry Moore, who is running for Tuberville's seat.
Moore polled the crowd on how many attendees had been at Trump's 2015 rally in Mobile.
“Do you still stand with him today?” he asked. “When he gets here tonight, y'all stand with him. Let him know we love him. Let him know we need him. And let him know we're not going to let him down.”
While Republicans remain the heavy favorites in Alabama’s statewide campaigns, they face a more challenging political landscape this year, despite redistricting efforts.
Mobile is near Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, where Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures is trying to fend off a challenge from Trump-backed Marques after the district's boundaries were redrawn as part of a larger effort to help Republicans keep control of the U.S. House.
“You’re the only one a little close because it’s new, it’s fresh, it’s brand new,” Trump said to Marques.
The district is one of several Democratic-leaning districts across the South that were reshaped to Republican advantage after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this year that severely weakened the Voting Rights Act, a Civil Rights-era law that has increased minority representation in Congress and elsewhere. Figures was first elected to the House in 2024, giving Alabama two Black representatives for the first time in its history.
Trump's rally also aimed to reach Florida voters
Mobile is also next to Florida’s panhandle, a Republican stronghold. Party officials hoped the rally would help to bolster Trump-backed candidates in Florida, including Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, who is running for governor.
In a meeting on Capitol Hill this week, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told GOP senators that Trump would be campaigning aggressively until the Nov. 3 midterms, with events almost every day.
Friday's rally also highlighted the recent approval of the $3.2 billion Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project, which Trump called the largest transportation project in Alabama history.
Speaking before Trump's arrival, Moore proposed naming it the Donald J. Trump Bridge.
Trump said if that happened, he'd be happy to let builders go over budget.
___
Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Kim Chandler contributed to this report from Montgomery, Ala.
