President Trump makes midterm campaign swing to Mobile
President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally at The Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala., Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — President Trump rallied supporters in Mobile today, returning to the place where he drew his first mega crowd, even though Alabama is hardly considered a top midterm battleground.
With just weeks to go before elections that will determine control of Congress, Trump urged his supporters to back Republicans including Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor, and state Rep. Rhett Marques, who is seeking to flip Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.
Trump’s decision to spend so much time in deep red states that have garnered relatively little attention during the critical final stretch underscores his party’s uphill climb and the electorate’s broad disapproval of his performance as president. The event at the University of South Alabama gave Trump the chance to be surrounded by some of his most loyal supporters as he confronts dismal poll numbers and growing pessimism from his party about their chances of holding onto the House and Senate in November.
“I’m here really because, you know, sometimes, even though you don’t have to come here, you gotta pay respect to the people that have loved you right from the beginning,” he told the crowd a day after visiting another red state, Oklahoma.
And he announced that he would be returning to Alabama again next Saturday for the Alabama-Georgia football game in Tuscaloosa.
The rally also drew protesters. Federal court records show that three university students were arrested for making threats against the president in social media posts.
While Republicans remain the heavy favorites in Alabama’s statewide campaigns, they face a more challenging political landscape this year, despite redistricting efforts.
Mobile is near Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, where Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures is trying to fend off a challenge from Trump-backed Marques after the district’s boundaries were redrawn as part of a larger effort to help Republicans keep control of the U.S. House.
“You’re the only one a little close because it’s new, it’s fresh, it’s brand new,” Trump said to Marques.
Mobile is also next to Florida’s panhandle, a Republican stronghold. Party officials hoped the rally would help to bolster Trump-backed candidates in Florida, including Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, who is running for governor.
In a meeting on Capitol Hill this week, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told GOP senators that Trump would be campaigning aggressively until the Nov. 3 midterms, with events almost every day. His schedule includes trips to the most competitive battlegrounds, including Ohio and Texas.
Friday’s rally also highlighted the recent approval of the $3.2 billion Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project, which Trump called the largest transportation project in Alabama history.
Speaking before Trump’s arrival, Moore proposed naming it the Donald J. Trump Bridge.
Trump said if that happened, he’d be happy to let builders go over budget.
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