Trump tells voters ahead of midterms: ‘Pretend I’m on the ballot’

President Trump again urged Americans on Wednesday to cast their vote as if he was “on the ballot” this November.

“I see it all the time, that when Trump’s on the ballot, they win,” the president told Fox News’s Trey Gowdy. “When he’s out of the ballot, the people don’t go to vote, and I’m asking the people … to get out and vote. Pretend I’m on the ballot.”

The president’s interview with Gowdy will air on “Sunday Night in America” in full this weekend. His comments come as the Republican Party looks to ramp up efforts to engage voters ahead of the midterm elections, which are now less than 10 weeks away.

Trump previously invoked this same messaging tactic during a rally for Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) last week. The senator, sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), beat challenger Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.) in the state’s Republican primary runoff for the Senate Tuesday by narrow margins — despite wielding an endorsement from the president.

“What I want you to do is pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot,” Trump told the crowd of supporters, warning that Democrats would “impeach” him if they regained a majority in Congress.

The president will attend both days of the GOP’s upcoming midterm convention in Dallas next month as part of this turnout effort.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said during a campaign event in Sinton, Texas, on Thursday that Trump will “look right into the camera” and declare he is “on the ballot” at the event.

“Because even though his name isn’t … his administration, his legacy, the America First agenda is,” Johnson said. “We got to get people to turn out.”

Fox News host Sean Hannity raised a similar talking point during a Wednesday broadcast.

“Let me explain this: He is on the ballot because if we don’t get Republicans in the House and Senate, all progress in this country will come to a screeching halt,” Hannity told his viewers.

He warned that a Democratic majority in Congress would make the impeachment of Trump and other Republican officials a “top agenda item.”

A wave of unfavorable public polling amid the Iran war and cost of living issues have raised concerns about the GOP’s success rate at the ballot box this November. Trump had a net approval rating of negative 19.5 percentage points, according to a Thursday update in Silver Bulletin’s polling tracker .

Decision Desk HQ places the odds that Democrats retake the House majority this year at 67 percent, while projecting there is a 52 percent chance Republicans retain their control of the Senate.