President Trump on Thursday predicted that Republicans will retake control of the House after the 2020 elections but said the battle for control of the U.S. Senate will be “tough” because of GOP candidates who are insufficiently supportive of him.
“I believe we’re going to take back the House [because] Nancy Pelosi is stone-cold crazy,” Mr. Trump said on Fox Business Network. “I don’t make a statement like that very easily…otherwise, I’ll look very bad.”
He also said he would win re-election but said the Senate, where the GOP holds an effective 53-47 majority, will be “tough.”
“We’re fighting very hard in the Senate, I’ll be honest. The Senate is tough,” he said. “We have a couple of people that aren’t as supportive of Trump as they should be and those people are going to lose their elections. If they don’t support Trump, they lose their elections - it’s a very simple element.”
Republicans are defending Senate seats in a number of competitive states, including Arizona, Colorado, Maine and North Carolina.
Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, has been noncommittal on whether she plans to formally support Mr. Trump’s bid for re-election.
“You have a few people that want to be cute and I think they’re going to lose their elections and that’s a problem for the Senate,” the president said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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