President Trump and first lady Melania Trump voted early in West Palm Beach on Saturday, then the president pressed Republicans to treat the midterms as a referendum on his record.
President Trump cast his ballot in person alongside first lady Melania Trump in West Palm Beach on Saturday, then spoke with reporters before heading to a campaign rally in Georgia.
Reporting from the scene described the pair voting early in Florida, the president’s adopted home state, as he kept a heavy midterm schedule between stops and public comments on races up and down the ballot.
The Washington Examiner reported that Trump cast his midterm ballot at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office and said he voted for all Republicans in Florida, arriving with the first lady after time at his nearby golf course.
Fox News likewise reported that the president and first lady cast early voting ballots in West Palm Beach and delivered remarks afterward.
Breitbart noted that Trump, wearing an “I Voted” sticker, was asked if he voted the party line and answered, “Very much so.”
Trump told reporters the midterm grind is different from running for himself. He framed the work as constant travel and constant talking for candidates across the map.
“It’s a strain on your voice. It’s a strain. You know, it’s not normal, what I’ve done,” he said.
“It’s hard because I’m not campaigning for myself, I’m campaigning for other people, some of whom I don’t know.”
He had spent the night at Mar-a-Lago between rallies. Instead of a full golf round, he hit balls with unidentified golf pros. “I wasn’t in the mood to play. Because I’m too busy,” he said.
Hours earlier, he had urged supporters in other early-voting states to cast ballots however they could. One Truth Social post aimed at New Jersey voters told them to return mail ballots at once or go to the polls “RIGHT NOW” and back Republicans “UP AND DOWN THE BALLOT.”
Trump argued that history is rough on sitting presidents in midterms, then said his approach is different. “A sitting president always does badly in the midterms,” he said. “There’s no president that’s ever campaigned like I have.”
He called the races critical “because we beat them,” and urged voters to treat the midterms as a referendum on his presidency rather than a routine off-year contest.
That message fits a wider push in which Trump has pressed South Carolina voters to block Democrats in 2026 races while keeping his own name at the center of the fight.
He visited South Carolina on Wednesday to campaign with Sen. Darline Graham, described as embattled in a tight race. Graham was in Florida on Friday night, and Trump left open a possible return to the state.
While Trump voted in Florida, former President Barack Obama was campaigning Saturday in Ohio and Michigan. Trump did not soften his verdict on his predecessors.
“Obama was a lousy president. Clinton was not bad, but he got caught up in a lot of scandals. Outside of the scandals he would have been a good president,” Trump said.
Bill Clinton had criticized Trump’s redesigned Rose Garden. The back-and-forth underscored how personal the midterm season has become, including coverage of how Obama has branded Trump on the Ohio trail.
Trump also praised Ohio Sen. John Husted as a “great athlete” and a “big, powerful strong guy,” tying personal endorsements to the same map where Democrats are trying to nationalize the race.
In Florida, Republican Sen. Ashley Moody is favored in a Senate race against Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. The contest to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to be more competitive, with former Republican Rep. David Jolly, now running as a Democrat, challenging Trump ally Rep. Byron Donalds.
Trump’s Florida stop also fits a pattern of using home-state appearances to police Senate lanes and candidate disputes, including moments when he has targeted an Alaska Senate hopeful during other Florida midterm travel.
Asked about polling averages showing his approval at 38% or lower, Trump rejected the figure. He told the Washington Examiner, “I’m not at 38,” and added, “I don’t believe I could be beaten by anybody. I think that if I needed it, which I don’t, I think 60.”
On a Washington Sun report that mass pardons for junior staffers dealing with deportations, war, or trade were under consideration, Trump declined to rule out relief for lower-level White House staffers. Traveling with glamorous aide Margo Martin, he told her, “Margo, you’re not going to have to worry about it, okay?”
Pressed on Iran, he slammed the premise of a question about preparing to attack but kept options open. “I may have to finish it off or maybe they’ll make a deal, but I’m not sure,” he said, while arguing Democrats are “very corrupt.” Separate midterm coverage has tracked how Obama has hit Trump on Iran while backing allies in Detroit.
On voting methods, Trump said Monday, “There is a lot of cheating in vote by mail.” He chose to vote in person. He also pointed to Justice Department action against illegal voting in the weeks before the elections.
The New York Times reported that the Justice Department told California election officials they must help identify noncitizens on the rolls or risk federal “scrutiny.” On Thursday, the DOJ sued the state and asked it to segregate the votes of 20,000 people until their citizenship status could be “determined.”
Trump said the problem runs larger than that slice of ballots. “It could be as high as a million votes. The 20,000 is just a little bit, and that had to do with the past election, not this current election,” he said.
Legal fights around the midterms are not limited to voter rolls. Recent court action has also shaped how campaigns buy airtime, including when the high court again backed the Trump administration in a dispute over midterm campaign ad rates.
After voting, Trump left for Georgia to keep the rally schedule moving. The through-line was simple: show up, vote Republican, and treat the midterms as a verdict on the agenda he is still driving from the White House.
Voters who want secure elections and accountable leadership do not need a lecture from the other side, they need candidates who show up, cast a clear ballot, and refuse to shrug off the rules.
