MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President Trump promised earlier this month that he would campaign to support Republicans in 35 of the most competitive races.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I'm going to go to every one of those 35 places, and we're going to see if we can get everyone elected.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
But instead of going to battleground states such as New Hampshire, Maine or Michigan, Trump is first heading today to the more reliably red state of Oklahoma. The White House removed CNN from the press pool for this trip just days after a federal judge stopped President Trump's efforts to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the presidential office.
MARTIN: But NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez is traveling with the president, and he joins us now. Good morning, Franco.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: How are you?
MARTIN: Why Oklahoma?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, I mean, in some ways, it's just likely knocking some rust off and workshopping his campaign speech in front of a more friendly environment before heading to other states. I mean, it's certainly a place where he can get an enthusiastic response to this week's announcements for, for example, a $15 billion steel plant being built in Iowa, as well as a $54 billion investment by South Korea into a project to export natural gas from Alaska. And both of those are battleground states.
Now, Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who worked in the George W. Bush White House told me that the trip to Oklahoma and then actually to Alabama next, you know, reminds him of the 2006 midterms when Bush campaigned almost exclusively in red states.
ALEX CONANT: You can't go to a district or a state where there's just as many Democrats as Republicans or where there's a lot of independent voters because you're going to do more harm than good when your favorability numbers are this low.
ORDOÑEZ: And that's because in a swing state, Trump's as likely - and perhaps more likely - to stir up Democrats and independent voters who are not happy with him to go out and vote against Republicans.
MARTIN: Now we mentioned that Oklahoma is comfortably red. But could this also be about making sure it stays that way? I mean, sort of stabilizing the base, as it were?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. For sure. I mean, Trump endorsed the Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei, for example, and he barely won his primary. This is partly making sure that his supporters show up, Trump supporters. The challenge that Republicans have long had - and we've talked about this - is turning out low propensity voters when Trump is not on the ballot. And this trip to Oklahoma and Alabama is part of an effort to make sure those voters do come out next month for the midterms.
MARTIN: But Trump's message to the base has been - you know, we've heard him say this explicitly, to pretend that he is on the ballot. But isn't that a risky message, considering how poorly he's doing in the polls?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, but I'm not really sure Republicans have much of a choice. I mean, there is no question that some Republicans are trying to distance themselves, as we saw many skip the midterm convention. But I was talking with John McHenry, a veteran Republican pollster, and he told me that Trump is so tied to the Republican Party right now that lawmakers really have to tread carefully.
JOHN MCHENRY: And the thing that we've learned over the last couple of years is that it's impossible to run away from the president. This president has a way of throwing his arms around you. And you can't turn too far away from President Trump without turning off his voters.
MARTIN: So what is the White House or the Republican National Committee - which is helping to lead the campaign - what do they have to say about this?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. An RNC official, who asked for anonymity because they're not authorized to speak publicly, told me the president is holding his rally in Durant, Oklahoma, at least in part because it's also near the Texas border on the Dallas-Fort Worth media market. The idea is to help turn out base voters in Texas as well.
Now, that goes for Alabama also. The visit to Mobile, Alabama, is near Florida's panhandle, and they assured me that Trump will later visit battleground states like Florida, like Texas, Ohio and also Michigan.
MARTIN: That is White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Franco, thank you.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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