The China Mail - The final lap? Two days on the campaign trail with Trump

AFP followed him on Tuesday and Wednesday during one such trip out West, a rapid succession of flights and rallies -- in a glacial valley in Alaska, on an arid plain in Arizona and in the forests of Montana.

The Republican leader is betting on his ability to mobilize voters despite polls predicting that his party will lose control of one or both chambers of Congress on November 3.

A Fox News poll released Thursday puts his approval rating at just 36 percent, a new low, largely because of growing dissatisfaction over the cost of living.

"Please pretend that I am on the ballot," the 80-year-old leader, wearing a red cap, told the crowd Wednesday in Bullhead City, Arizona.

— Nostalgia for 2024 —

In 2024, he got nearly 78 percent of the vote in the county where he was speaking in Arizona. The other two counties he visited, in Alaska and Montana, also gave him decisive victories over Democrat Kamala Harris.

Donald Trump makes no secret of his preference for traveling to friendly territory, telling reporters that he wants to "pay my respect" to supporters. "We brought back the spirit" of the 2024 presidential campaign, he declared.

It is difficult to judge.

Each appearance drew committed supporters, the core of his MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement, who are apparently willing to forgive him for soaring fuel prices as well as the war in Iran.

"The country needs to be a little bit more patient," Theresa Hallesy told AFP on Wednesday in Montana. "There's a lot of stuff going on in the world that he can't control, but he still has to deal with it. I think we're going in the right direction."

The 68-year-old retiree waited more than seven hours for Trump to make his entrance into a large rodeo arena commandeered for the occasion.

The American president is rallying support for his party, but he seemed almost reluctant to invite local candidates to join him onstage during the tour.

— 'One minute' —

"I want you just to come up for one minute because we don't want to hear you for two minutes, three minutes, just one minute," he told Andy Biggs, a conservative seeking to become governor of Arizona.

The Republican leader always has one or two announcements tailored to each region.

In Alaska on Tuesday, at a hockey rink converted into a rally venue, he laid out his climate-skeptic arguments.

In a state whose economy is closely tied to fossil fuels, Trump promoted a major liquefied natural gas project. He also issued presidential pardons for two auto mechanics who were convicted of modifying diesel engines to circumvent emissions regulations.

At each rally, Donald Trump promised that every American will receive $5,000 if Republicans retain their majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. How this highly controversial proposal, criticized by the opposition, would be funded remains unclear.

Yet rather than an electoral offensive, his rallies give the impression of a final tour for a show whose star performer and audience are already feeling nostalgic.

— Qatari jet —

In Montana, thousands of enthusiastic supporters laughed at a now-familiar impersonation of French President Emmanuel Macron and gave Trump a standing ovation as he left the stage, dancing to the ever-present strains of "YMCA."

In Arizona, the billionaire delighted the audience with a flyover by the new presidential aircraft, a lavish gift from Qatar.

Onstage, he joked about the present, estimated to be worth $400 million: "You know, when you are given gifts, you take them, right?"

The joke fell somewhat flat with the audience in a district where both the poverty rate and the unemployment rate are significantly above the national average.

The Republican leader then spoke regretfully about the approaching end of his term, saying he has resigned himself to it in "two-and-a-half years. Now a little less than that, sadly."

"I said that yesterday and they started screaming, 'Four more years! Four more years!'" Trump continued.

He paused. He waited. The audience eventually took the cue, and a few voices broke into the chant, "Four more years! Four more years!" — without much conviction.

F.Brown--ThChM