Trump, In Interview, Abruptly Shifts Tone On Midterms’ Urgency

President Donald Trump’s sense of urgency about the looming midterms appears to have taken a dive in less than 24 hours.

A day after he implored Republicans to turn out in force in November, Trump said in a Fox News interview on Thursday that he won’t campaign as hard in the midterms as he did for the race that returned him to the White House.

He even seemed to concede that the Democrats may retake Congress, telling Fox that he plans to be a “block” against policies he opposes.

“I'll block all their bad stuff for two years,” he said in the interview with Laura Ingraham. “It won't be the same, but I will be a blocker, what can I tell you, and probably be able to make deals with them.”

The shifting tone — a night after using the the party’s rare midterm convention to urge people to vote and “pretend that I’m on the ballot” — reflected a departure from the message that the GOP has sought to convey in recent weeks as Trump’s sagging poll numbers, an unpopular war and high prices threaten their majorities in Congress.

Trump told Fox there was a crucial difference between now and the presidential election: In the latter, he actually was on the ballot.

"The hardest I ever campaigned (was) because I had to win,” he said. “I took four months. No empty days. No empty hours. I made speeches all day."

But this year's midterms are different because, he said, "I'm campaigning for other people."

When asked if his first two years of his second term will be worth it if Democrats win back the House and Senate, Trump said, "It is what it is."