# Jeffries to Trump: you really are on the ballot

> Trump told Republicans to pretend he's on the midterm ballot. Democrats took the deal and started naming what comes with him.
- Title: Jeffries to Trump: you really are on the ballot · Newsweek
- Summary: Trump told Republicans to pretend he's on the midterm ballot. Democrats took the deal and started naming what comes with him. Both parties now agree the…
- Keywords: midterms, trump, hakeem jeffries, approval ratings, congress, Jeffries, really, ballot, Newsweek
- Source: Newsweek — https://newsweek.com/hakeem-jeffries-trump-actually-ballot-midterms-2026-12436870
- Published: 2026-09-13T20:39:49+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: midterms, trump, hakeem jeffries, approval ratings, congress
## Trump makes it about him
At the first-ever Republican midterm convention, in Dallas, Trump cast the November races as an extension of his own presidency and told the crowd to vote as if his name were printed on the ballot.

> Pretend that I'm on the ballot. I'm on the ballot, just one more time.
## Jeffries takes the deal
On ABC's This Week, the House minority leader did not argue with the framing. He accepted it, and turned it back on the president.

> Mr. President, we don't have to pretend. You are actually on the ballot.
## What else is on the ballot
Jeffries ran through a list meant to tie every Republican candidate to the administration: the economy, cost of living, Iran, gas prices, healthcare and trade.

> Your failed economy is on the ballot. The cost of living crisis is on the ballot.
## Tariffs as the price tag
He put a dollar figure on it, saying the tariffs have added thousands of dollars a year to what ordinary households pay. That turns a policy fight into a receipt.

> The Trump tariffs, which have increased costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year, [are] on the ballot
## Local races go national
The strategy rewrites congressional contests as one national verdict on Trump's return to power, rather than a set of district-by-district matchups.
## The $5,000 promise
Trump told Dallas that every adult citizen would get a $5,000 payment if Republicans hold both chambers, describing it as a dividend paid to shareholders in a successful company.

> I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.
## No bill, no funding
The announcement came with no legislation, no eligibility rules and no funding source. With roughly 270 million adults, the tab would run about $1.35 trillion.
## Johnson won't commit
Pressed twice on Meet the Press about whether Americans can count on the checks, the House speaker would only say Congress will work through it and find consensus.

> I'll work with the president hand-in-hand as I do all the time. And we'll deliver for the American people.
## Two bets at once
Republicans are testing whether Trump can still pull presidential-year voters to the polls, and whether that gain outweighs the opposition his numbers generate.
## The numbers he's carrying
CNN's Poll of Polls has him at 35 percent approval to 63 percent disapproval. RealClearPolitics, the New York Times and Silver Bulletin all land near minus 19 net.
## The White House shrugs
Spokesperson Davis Ingle waved off the polling with a line he has used many times, pointing to the 2024 result and the administration's focus on jobs, inflation and housing.

> The ultimate poll was November 5th, 2024 when nearly 80 million Americans overwhelmingly elected President Trump
## Key takeaway

Both parties now agree the midterms are a referendum on Trump, which means the whole cycle turns on his approval rating, and it sits near 39 percent.