Donald Trump took to Truth Social Tuesday morning to promise a midterm surprise, just hours after telling a cheering crowd in Nebraska that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego.
The post went up at 8:36 a.m. Eastern. “My Rally crowds and enthusiasm are unbelievable! Nobody has ever seen anything like it,” Trump wrote. “We are flipping races all over the place. The Fake News knows it, but they don’t want to be truthful with their viewers. It’s all happening! The Dumocrats never counted on this.” He went on to thank the networks airing his rallies in full, saying they are being rewarded with “BIG RATINGS,” and told his followers to “Watch for the ‘Midterm Surprise!'”
He did not say what the surprise is.
“Dumocrats” is Trump’s newest nickname for Democrats. During a June speech in Pennsylvania, he bragged about coming up with it, explaining that he swapped the E for a U because their policies are “so dumb.” “Flipping races” means winning seats the other party currently holds, which would help Republicans hold onto Congress when voters head to the polls on November 3.
The midterm surprise tease landed less than a day after one of the most alarming moments of Trump’s campaign swing. At a rally Monday in Grand Island, Nebraska, Trump was defending the war with Iran and arguing that if Iran ever got a nuclear weapon, it could destroy an American city. Then he named two.
“It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” Trump said. “They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.”
The crowd cheered.
Los Angeles is the second largest city in the country. San Diego is home to Naval Base San Diego and several other major military installations. Both cities are led by Democrats in a state Trump regularly targets.
California leaders responded fast. Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X, “After sending the National Guard and Marines to occupy California, Donald Trump is now saying our foreign enemies should ‘take out’ Los Angeles and San Diego. He is deranged and dangerous.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Trump’s “statements against our city are dangerous and could potentially compromise our safety.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria went further. “San Diego is not collateral damage. We are not expendable. And we are never a ‘small price to pay.’ Keep our city out of your reckless war talk,” he wrote.
Trump’s midterm surprise promise leans heavily on his crowd sizes, and reporters keep documenting empty seats. The New York Times reported that his rally in Mobile, Alabama, one of the reddest parts of the country, was far from packed. An analysis by the Daily Beast and its investigative newsletter PunchUp found his crowds are down as much as 75 percent compared to his first term.
Trump has pushed back. He insisted a recent Ohio rally was “totally MAXED OUT” and claimed the empty upper sections were there because people “migrate down to the Main Floor.”
He also fired off a follow up post Tuesday complaining about Fox News, writing that the network spends more time covering “the Jihadist and Dumocrat candidates” than Republicans.
The polls are telling a different story than Trump is. Current polling suggests Democrats will gain seats in both the House and the Senate in November, and The New York Times has reported that Republican lawmakers are alarmed about what Trump’s unpopularity could mean for their own races.
That leaves the midterm surprise wide open. In politics, a late campaign surprise usually means a major announcement, a policy move, or a news event timed to shake up an election in its final weeks. Trump has not said which kind he has in mind, and nothing in his posts explains it. Election Day is four weeks away.
