Trump appeared in just 12 of more than 500 Republican TV ads ahead of the midterms: report
Por Joe Sommerlad — – World RSS Feed
Trump appeared in just 12 of more than 500 Republican TV ads ahead of the midterms: report
GOP candidates focusing on attacking Democrats rather than championing president’s record as his deep unpopularity begins to tell
Joe Sommerlad Friday 18 September 2026 13:55 BST
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Donald Trump is being left out of TV ads for Republican candidates competing in this November’s midterms, according to new analysis, as the president’s popularity remains at an all time low.
Citing data from AdImpact, CNN reports Trump was mentioned in just 12 spots promoting GOP candidates between September 1 and 15 – those ads costing a combined $1 million – whereas more than 500 were produced in total over the same period as part of a $160 million investment.
The network found that Republican campaigns were far more likely to focus their attention on tarring Democratic rivals than seeking a close association with Trump or promoting his record in office.
The same analysis found that the president was much more likely to be mentioned in Democrat’s ads. Trump was referenced in 95 that aired in the first two weeks of September, on which $23 million was spent, many of which sought to disparage conservative candidates by linking them to the president and his agenda.
open image in gallery“Mike Rogers, all in on the war, all in on Trump,” declared one in Michigan, pouring scorn on the man challenging for the Senate against their progressive alternative Abdul El-Sayed.
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
The phenomenon comes despite Trump’s insistence on putting himself front and center of Republican campaigning in defiance of his own dire approval ratings, which have been driven into the low 30s by the Iran war and the ongoing affordability crisis.
The president has urged conservative voters to “pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot” in the hope of encouraging MAGA turnout and last week headlined an unorthodox midterms convention in Texas at which he promised the public $5,000 checks if the GOP held onto Congress and forecast a bleak second-half to his term if the opposition prevailed.
The event appears to have made little impact on independent voters and was perhaps most noteworthy for the number of congressional Republicans who preferred to make their excuses and stay away.
The reason for GOP wariness about being tied to Trump was perhaps most clearly exposed by The Financial Times/Focaldata poll earlier this month that found that 46 percent of people felt the president’s record since returning to power in January 2025 had made it “harder” for conservatives to win their races.
open image in galleryA majority of Democrats and independents agreed with the statement but, more damningly, so did 30 percent of right-wing voters, or almost a third. Conversely, only 26 percent of the same demographic said Trump’s actions had made it “easier” for the GOP’s nominees to win out.
The same polling further found that 43 percent of Americans felt an endorsement from the president was likely to do a Republican candidate more harm than good.
Candidates appear to be keenly aware of the danger and some have begun quietly removing references to Trump from their websites or even frankly telling the president’s team they do not want him cheerleading in their district.
“We’ve told them he cannot come,” a senior Republican working on a competitive House race recently told Politico. “Candidly, he would not be helpful here.”
One House GOP competitor described the guidance they had received from pollsters and operatives in much blunter terms: “You’re f***ed if you mention him too much, and you’re also f***ed if you don’t stay in his good graces.”
A veteran Republican ad strategist, who did not wish to be named, made the same point somewhat more diplomatically to CNN, commenting: “The president is not the best message or our best messenger at this point.”
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