JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
As Election Day nears, President Trump is holding one, sometimes two rallies a day, mostly in red states where Republicans are facing serious political headwinds. The official purpose is to help those Republicans win their races, but as NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith reports, there's more to it.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Blake Marnell is a long way from home. He's from San Diego, but on a recent Tuesday, he was the first one through the gates for Trump's rally in Greenville, North Carolina.
BLAKE MARNELL: I took the month of October off thinking that there would be a few rallies, and as it turned out, there's a ton of them. So I'm just going from rally to rally. And, like, some people like to go on cruises. I like political rallies.
KEITH: Marnell isn't just any Trump fan. He's famous for his dedication, always in the front row wearing a suit meant to be an homage to Trump's early campaign promise to build the wall.
MARNELL: Brick Suit, but I - President Trump just calls me Mr. Wall.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And I also have my Front Row Joes. My Front Row Joes are so incredible. And a man who is very special. Mr. Wall, please stand up.
(CHEERING)
KEITH: Marnell is certain Trump will hold more rallies leading up to the 2028 presidential election. But Trump won't be on the ballot again. And once these midterms are over, it's not clear how many Republican candidates will want people pretending he is. Right now, though, that is his plea.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: Please pretend I'm on the ballot 'cause in a way, I am on the ballot because they want to do away with all of the tremendous things we've done - the tax cuts, the border.
KEITH: Like any performer on what could be a farewell tour, Trump plays a lot of the greatest hits, like his riff about tariffs.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: Tariffs. The tariffs. My favorite word. I always say it, but I had to change it to fifth. You've heard me say this. I said it's a favorite word. It's made us rich.
KEITH: And also some new ones, like the instant classic about Ohio Senator Jon Husted's butt.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: So I'm studying him. And I made the mistake of saying that I started off by studying his ass. I just want to say.
(LAUGHTER)
KEITH: And not just in Ohio, where perhaps some voters could be persuaded by Trump's anatomical focus.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: And the audience loved it. By the way, he went up 12 points that day.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: He went from being down to being up.
(APPLAUSE)
KEITH: This was from a rally in Texas this week.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: Maybe I should do that with Ken Paxton, but I'm not sure your body is going to qualify.
(LAUGHTER)
KEITH: As a closing argument, Trump's message is unconventional at best. Even the $5,000 Trump dividend he's promising if Republicans win the House and the Senate comes with an off-message weave.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: You'll be my guest at Mar-a-Lago. The problem is that for $5,000, the most you'll be able to buy is a hamburger and maybe a small dessert.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: I don't know. I'm not even sure you could buy that.
KEITH: In a year when affordability is a top issue, this is a performance for the Trump faithful. Cindy New from Emerald Isle, North Carolina, says she voted for Trump three times. She said she was just hoping for a good show.
CINDY NEW: And he can't run again, they say, so I guess I got to come while he gets close. And I missed all the rest of them, so I got to come see him once. I don't need to do it but once. One and done. But I'm excited. We got to vote red around here.
KEITH: In Fort Myers, Florida, Valerie Thivierge showed up bedazzled. She hadn't been to a Trump rally before, either, despite owning a store in town that is devoted to him.
VALERIE THIVIERGE: People are saying, oh, you're going to close your store tomorrow. I said, of course not - of course we are. This is our life. This is what we do all year long, and I want to go see him.
KEITH: And by Trump's telling, this is why he keeps doing it.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: It's not easy to stand up there for two hours ranting, raving. You have the crowds, but there's a lot of love in those rooms.
KEITH: Or, as he said in Corpus Christi, Texas...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRUMP: And we've been doing this together for 11 years, and there's never been anything like it. And there probably never will be anything like it again, politically or otherwise. So let's go out and do what we do best, and that's win on November 3. We got to win.
(CHEERING)
KEITH: Trump's time at the center of the political universe is ticking down, but he keeps playing the hits, and the most loyal Trump fans keep coming. Tamara Keith, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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