President Donald Trump said Americans should cast their ballot using “every appropriate tool,” in a pre-recorded video imploring Republicans to vote in the midterm elections, including using methods that he has
historically opposed like early and mail voting.
“If your state has early voting, do not wait. Go out and vote,” Trump said in the video posted Saturday morning to his Truth Social account. “Vote early, vote by mail, or vote in person on Election Day.”
Trump’s message is notable because he has criticized mail-in voting for years and pushed to limit it since the start of his second term, though many of those efforts have been blocked by courts.
It comes as Trump’s midterm strategy has relied heavily on
turning out his base, and less so on persuading undecided voters to support GOP candidates.
“It’s all a turnout game,” a GOP campaign official told CNN last month. “From day one, the campaign committees and the president’s political operation have been sharing data to make sure we’re hammering the exact people we need to turn out.”
