Trump Plans Intensive 2026 Midterm Travel as RNC Advances First-Ever Midterm Convention

President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he will do 'a lot of campaign traveling' and be on the trail 'a lot' in 2026, vowing weekly or near-weekly trips to boost Republican candidates as the party defends narrow House and Senate majorities in a historically tough midterm environment for sitting presidents. He has already made stops in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Michigan to tout his first year back in office and his affordability agenda, and will head next to Iowa, where Republicans are trying to hold open Senate and governor seats. At the Republican National Committee’s winter meeting, chair Joe Gruters pushed through an initial rules change that would let him convene a special 'ceremonial' midterm convention outside a presidential year, a first-of-its-kind gathering Trump and allies see as a national platform to showcase his record and energize 'low-propensity' MAGA voters who often skip midterms. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who ran Trump’s 2024 campaign, has signaled the president will be a central face of the GOP’s midterm push, a contrast with his first term when he waited until after Labor Day to campaign heavily and Republicans lost the House in 2018.